Naruto: Emerald Adventures
by KitsuneDragon
Summary: SEQUEL TO JOHTO JOURNEYS! Kanto and Johto gave him all they had to offer, but now it is time to soar to greater heights and make new discoveries. Three years of training on Mt. Silver definitely made Naruto stronger and wiser, but will it be enough to conquer the Hoenn region?
1. Chapter 1:I herd you liek Mudkipz

Naruto: Emerald Adventures

Chapter 1: I herd you liek Mudkipz

Professor Birch's Laboratory, Littleroot Town, Hoenn Region 

The Hoenn Region was actually quite a beautiful place. He was biased towards his home of Johto, but there was something more...natural about the environment of Hoenn that made it so enjoyable. A couple of bird Pokemon, Taillow if his memory served him correctly, followed after the Swellow which led their flock in standard V-formation. He then placed his back against the sturdy wall of the laboratory of Hoenn's resident professor and slid his way down to rest on the grass.

"Hmm...you know, after the incident yesterday you would think they'd call." He then raised an eyebrow in confusion as Typhlosion raised three digits and began counting down.

"Ty...phlo...sion."

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

The blonde trainer looked in awe at his partner Pokemon. The Volcano Pokemon gave a smug smirk to his trainer before gesturing for the sixteen year old to answer. Once the shock of seeing his Fire-type Pokemon demonstrate the foresight of a Psychic-type had dissipated, the boy pressed the 'answer' button on his new PokeNav Plus.

 _"NARU-CHAN!"_ The boisterous holograms of one Kushina Uzumaki and one Minato Namikaze appeared in a flash of blue.

Naruto remembered back in the day when he had his simple Pokegear, but after three years, technology had advanced by leaps and bounds to create the hologram generating device known as the Pokemon Navigator Plus or the PokeNav Plus for short. Created by the genius engineering teams of both the Kalos region and the Hoenn region, the original PokeNav that was created fourteen years ago was upgraded due to being combined with the technology of the Holocaster. The original PokeNav was actually fairly large and bulky and had to be stored in a small pouch, but the Plus was capable of being stored in ones pocket. Not to mention it was shockproof, waterproof, fireproof...it was basically lifeproof in the world of Pokemon. The PokeNav Plus was capable of real time news reports, notifying a trainer of which Pokemon they were capable of catching in a certain area within the region and the holographic audio-visual calling system which is what allowed Naruto Uzumaki to currently chat face-to-hologram face with his parents.

"Hi Kaa-chan, Tou-chan." He gave a small wave to the small, pixelated images of his parents.

 _"Naru-chan! How is my sweet baby boy?"_

"I'm fine." The blonde replied as he leaned up against the sturdy walls of Professor Birch's lab. He was quick to direct a glare at the snickering form of Typhlosion. Partner Pokemon or not, the Silver Conference Champion would punch the smartass Fire-type in the face if he continued.

 _"I'm glad to hear that. And where is the beautiful voice of my daughter in-law?"_

The raging storm in Naruto's mind was quickly subsided though as a gentle hand rested upon his shoulder, distracting him from his still snickering partner Pokemon.

"Kushina-san, as much as I love you and your son...can you please stop calling me that?"

 _"Awww, but Hinata-chan, you are going to be my lovely little daughter in-law one day. So you don't have to call me Kushina-san so much. Okaa-san would be much more appropriate wouldn't you say?"_ The young couple stared blankly at the hologram of the redhead. Minato gave a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

 _"Sorry, Hinata-chan. Kushina-chan is just very excited to see you both, isn't that right darling?"_

 _"It is."_ The former Silver Conference runner-up nodded stiffly in agreement with her husband. _"And though I am excited to see you and hear from you both now that you are going to be starting your new journeys out in the Hoenn region, I need some explaining done. Naru-chan."_

The atmosphere between the young couple and Naruto's parents suddenly took on a very tense feeling. The two sixteen year olds had bullets of sweat suddenly dripping down the sides of their faces.

"Yes, Kaa-chan?"

 _"Care to explain to me why it is that after only twenty-four hours after you arrived in the Hoenn region that we get a call from the Uchiha Police Force's Hoenn region branch concerning your and Hinata-chan's involvement in a sudden act of crime stopping at the edge of Odale Town?"_

"I don't wanna. You'll get mad." Naruto pouted like a child as he looked his mother dead in the eye. Sweatdrops formed on the backs of the heads of Typhlosion, Espeon, Hinata and Minato as they watched the exchange between mother and son.

 _"I won't get mad, Naru-chan. I just want to hear your side of the story."_ There was a small period of silence as Naruto and Kushina continued to stare at one another.

"You promise you won't get mad?"

 _"I won't get mad."_ She raised her hand and a made a cross motion over her heart. Naruto's eyes narrowed searching for any evidence of a lie within his mother's holographic form.

"Ok...well...just for the record, and I want to make this perfectly clear that this whole thing was not my fault." His parents nodded in understanding before gesturing for the young blonde to continue. What felt like entire minutes was actually only a few seconds that ticked by as Naruto blankly stared at his parents' hologram in silence. He then mentally prepared himself, taking a deep breath in and then exhaling.

"I was minding my own business..."

 _"BULLSHIT!"_

"BUT KAA-CHAAAAAAN! I WAAAAAAAAAS!" The Silver Conference Champion whined. "I was just taking an enthusiastic walk through Slateport and was heading to cut through Route 103 to reach Odale Town while Hina-chan was looking around in Slateport to get some supplies after we arrived..."

 _"What kind of walk involves running into members of a supposedly criminal environmental organization?!"_

"...I take _very_ enthusiastic walks."

Kushina and Minato's holographic forms turned to each other before meeting their son's gaze with blank stares. _"Bullshit, but continue."_

"Well we had just arrived in Slateport City and got off the ship from Johto. This is before my enthusiastic walk led me to Route 103 and when shit hit the fan. Anyway, so yeah, Slateport..."

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _Slateport City, Hoenn Region_

 _One Day Ago_

 _"We're here!"_

 _"Typhlo!"_

 _The hyperactive knuckle headed trainer and his partner Pokemon hopped down from the last three steps onto solid ground as they descended down the ship's staircase. The Fire-type basked in the warm rays of the tropical region's sun while Naruto wiped a small bead of rapidly forming sweat from his brow._

 _"Man, it's a good thing Kaa-chan told me about the temperature here and gave me these new clothes, eh buddy?" Naruto gave himself a once over as he looked at the clothing Kushina has given him. He could not express the love he felt for his mother when she had handed him the primarily orange set of clothing. The outfit was comprised of a pair of orange short pants that came down to just above knees, a short sleeved, dark blue t-shirt with a sleeveless orange, high collared vest worn over the t-shirt, and finally a pair of dark blue sneakers. The Master Ball that housed the legendary Genetic Pokemon hung securely around his neck by wound leather fibres since the training with his parents was so intense that it snapped the last cord he had._

 _The clothes were made of the same brand of nylon which most gym-goers wore (exercising gym, not Pokemon gym), thus it was breathable and had a lightweight quality, not to mention soft and practically immune to the effects of profuse sweating._ _It was a massive contrast from wearing the multiple layers of clothing in order to endure the training he had with his parents in the near subzero temperatures of Mt. Silver._

 _"This is nothing like Johto or Kanto." He muttered as he observed the Wingull and Pelipper gliding through the air along the sea breeze._

 _"Well I would hope not." Hinata commented as she and Espeon walked up to the Silver Conference winner._

 _Hinata was clad in a_ _light lavender, sleeveless kimono-style blouse with vertical lines, tied with a dark purple obi around her waist. She wore a pair of short dark navy shorts with thigh-high stockings and had on a pair of light lavender sneakers with white trim. Overall, her attire was noticeably more form-fitting and less conservative than previously during her travels with Naruto during the Johto chapter of their lives._ _From Naruto's perspective as both a male and as her boyfriend, he enjoyed his girlfriend's choice in clothing as the obi did well to accentuate her breasts and the shorts...As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of the female derriere, Naruto could without a doubt say he adored those shorts._

 _"I'm going to head across to the shopping district, Naruto-kun. There's some supplies we need to restock on, but it's fine for you to head on without me as I might take a while." Hinata told her boyfriend as she made a double-check of her current funds._

 _"Are you sure?" Naruto asked._

 _"Very." She tip-toed to give the taller boy a kiss on the cheek. "We fought Legendary Pokemon. I'm pretty sure some shopping won't kill me."_

 _"I don't know, those bathing suits go for the throat..." He spoke with a joking tone that earned him a giggle from his significant other before he knelt down to Espeon's level. "You make sure she's okay, okay?"_

 _"Espe." The Sun Pokemon gave a salute with its tails and the blonde returned the salute before he and Typhlosion headed off in a northern direction away from Slateport, towards Route 13. He moved through the grassy trails alongside Typhlosion, marveling at the new Pokemon that came out of the grass. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to try and battle or catch any of these newcomers since one look at his high level Typhlosion made them dive back into the tall grass._

 _"You know, it's times like this I really wonder why I kept you with me for my journey here in Hoenn." Naruto deadpanned._

 _"Ty Typhosion."_

 _"I do not love you." Naruto replied with a roll of his eyes. "I tolerate you."_

 _"Typhlosion."_

 _"What's this about callin' me a liar?"_

 _"Ty Typhlosion Ty." The Fire-type's sassy tone made Naruto's eye twitch in annoyance._

 _"What the hell is a truther?" The Silver Conference winner shook his head to get rid of the useless thought. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. We need to meet this Professor Birch guy at Littleroot Town to figure what the hell this Mega Ring thingy is."_

 _The plan upon reaching the region was for both he and Hinata to meet up with the region's resident professor, Professor Birch, who was a friend of Hiruzen's and a work colleague of Iruka._

 _Like many of the Pokemon world's leading scientific minds, Professor Birch was unparalleled in his field of study. However, unlike Hiruzen who focused on the Relationships between Humans and Pokemon, and Iruka, who specialized in Pokemon Evolution and Breeding Studies, Professor Birch was one who focused on how Pokemon interacted in the wild within their natural habitats; the official name of his degree being Pokemon Habitats and Distribution. In addition to wild Pokemon studies, Birch was literally far more old school as he possessed a degree in another specialty of their world; Pokemon History._

 _The Hoenn region was possibly the region with the largest historical background in the entirety of the Pokemon world, comparable to that of even Sinnoh where it is said that the origin of the Pokemon world began from Mt. Coronet. The reason behind such a leap in cultural background was found to be as a result of the discovery of a new type of evolution that only recently began undergoing study from Professor Sycamore in the Kalos region._

 _Mega Evolution._

 _How such distant regions came to both possess species of Pokemon that were capable of undergoing this type of secondary evolution was a mystery. The data on Mega Evolution was shared across the regions at the request for assistance from Sycamore himself. He had sent a parcel to Hiruzen and Iruka for examination. After all, who better to ask for consultation than both the original Pokemon Professor himself and the youngest graduate in the field of Pokemon Evolution. Unfortunately, due to the odd nature of the parcel, they thought it would be best to have an initial examination done by another colleague._

 _And that is how Naruto came to be the temporary wearer of the shiny silver bracelet attached to his wrist; the Mega Bracelet._

 _"What really is this thing?"_

 _'It is strange, I will admit.' The touch of telepathy was something Naruto was not unfamiliar to, but even after three years of training with it at the summit of Mt. Silver, the blonde would never get used to hearing the voice of the Genetic Pokemon in his head. 'Also, I feel an odd connection to that stone in the Mega Ring.'_

 _'You ever came across these sorts of Mega Evolution Pokemon when you were isolated in Cerulean Cave or before that?' Naruto asked._

 _The Master Ball wobbled a bit around Naruto's neck as if to represent a shrug from Mewtwo. 'The Pokemon in Cerulean Cave were strong for their species, but this is honestly the first I have ever heard of such a phenomenon. If I had ever come across a mega evolved Pokemon, I'm not sure if I would have even have been able to tell whether or not it had undergone the process.'_

 _'Guess we're all going to learn about this together then.'_

 _'Learning new things is not something to shy away from, my friend.' Mewtwo chuckled, the Master Ball shaking in tandem._

 _'I thought I was done learning theoretical stuff after graduating from the Academy.' Naruto sighed._

 _The blonde trainer continued to walk alongside his Fire-type partner, watching in awe at the bright pallets of colors that passed by on either side of him. A maze of trees and berry plants were littered across the sea of emerald grasswhich outlined the the light brown dirt path he and Typhlosion walked along. The variety of colors brought about by the berry plants, all of which were currently bearing their respective fruits, gave Naruto the idea of maybe this is what it would be like to walk through a rainbow._

 _Of course, maybe just calling Ho-oh to fulfill that wish would be one way to answer that question._

 _The natural environment of the world was truly a sight to behold and even when he would see pictures on the Internet or in magazines, Naruto always found that they never did justice to the real thing. Every region of the Pokemon world was filled with an abundance of flora and fauna, something which many a human and Pokemon had simultaneously come to appreciate after World War 3 and why environmental programs were such an important part of each region's budget allocation. Though Unova did end up straying away from that since their society was based almost entirely on urbanization and had no reason to hide it what with all the amusement parks and skyscraper littered cityscapes they possessed._

 _'Maybe that's why there's a Pokemon out there that literally a bag of garbage.' Naruto thought as he recalled the image of a Trubbish. "Man, when Hina-chan finishes shopping, I'm taking her back along this route. This Hoenn region is amazing."_

 _"Ty Typhlosion?"_

 _"I'm not sure if it's off the path, to be honest." The Fire-type's point was valid and so Naruto looked to his trusty PokéNav. "Iwonder how far away we are from Littleroot Town from here."_

 _The map of the Hoenn region appeared on-screen and Naruto zoomed in on his current location before looking for Littleroot. Blue eyes brightened in excitement as he took note of the proximity._

 _"Oh, check this out!"_

 _"Ty?" The red eyed Pokemon looked over its trainer's shoulder as the blonde showed it the PokéNav._

 _"We're actually here, on Route 103." Naruto pointed to the blinking dot that represented where he was located. "At the edge of a Route 103 there's a little seaside route that connects to another part of Route 103." He then pointed to the two little red dots that represented the locations of towns. Bigger red dots represented city locations. "_ _If we go south from there, we will end up passing through Odale Town and that will put us right at Littleroot."_

 _"Ty Ty." The Volcano Pokemon nodded in understanding._

 _"We still have some time to kill before Hina-chan finishes shopping so let's say we check out this waterfront and see if we can find a way across, huh?"_

 _"Typhlosion Phlo Typhlo."_

 _"Yeah, I know things would be easier if I kept Quagsire and the others with me, but I decided to start fresh." Naruto chuckled as the Fire-type gestured to itself. "I couldn't leave you behind since you're my starter, I like you too much."_

 _Naruto glanced down as the Legendary Pokemon suddenly released an aura of confusion from within the Master Ball around his neck._

 _'Something wrong, Mewtwo?'_

 _'A cry for help. Agony. Fear. Pain. I can feel it.'_

 _'Is it a person or a Pokemon?! Where?!'_

 _'A Pokemon is what I sense.' The Psychic-type replied. 'It is approximately one metere from here due west.'_

 _The Silver Conference Champion nodded before turning to his partner. "Come on, Typhlosion!"_

 _The Volcano Pokemon took note of the serious demeanor on its trainer's face and followed with no questions asked, merely dropping onto all-fours and sprinting alongside the blonde as fast as his trainer could run. The vegetation around them had become a blur of varying shades of green and brown, they had been running so fast. Eventually, the pair came to a halt at the edge of a small body of water. It was here that Naruto and Typhlosion were wide eyed at the scene that greeted them._

 _What should have been crystal clear waters were revealed to have become a deep crater in the ground. Small puddles of what remained of the small, shallow lake littered the crater, but even though the cool waters that flowed from upstream still made its way into the earthen indentation, it was quickly evaporated. That was when Naruto took note of the fact that the crater seemed to glow red from pure heat, the air itself rippling from its intensity. The remnants of steam clouds rose into the air which revealed that the entire body of water had been evaporated by whatever had caused such an unnatural phenomenon, and that the act itself had been fairly recent. To put icing on the metaphorical cake, laying in the heated crater were a small school of Water-type Pokemon._

 _There were schools of Tentacool and Magikarp along with a few Pokemon Naruto had never seen before, but that was most likely due to the fact that the majority of them were burned to the point of turning into lumps of blackened and charred flesh and bone. There were a few that groaned in pain, their bodies wrinkled and peeling from the burns they received._

 _Naruto and Typhlosion were in shock, their bodies trembling at the sight. "What...What is this?"_

 _"Ty..." Typhlosion's crimson eyes then narrowed, a growl rising up from its vocal cords as the Fire-type glared at a trio of figures who stood on the opposite end of the now dried up lake. "TYPHLO!"_

 _Naruto's head shot up and his shocked visage quickly became one of rage as the trio across him looked up. There was one man and two women, with one of the women and the man being surprised while the other woman bore a look of indifference, but had a raised eyebrow._

 _Judging from the similar way they were dressed, a uniform of some kind, it was obvious they were a part of some sort of organized unit._ _Their clothes consisted of a red, black pinstriped material covering their bodies, but it seemed to bear some differences based on gender as the man wore spandex that encompassed his whole body while the women's own stopped at their mid-thigh. The man wore a pair of pants over his spandex that came down to his calf while one of the girls sported some very short shorts. Golden belt buckles adorned the pants. Hoods bearing triangular, black horns were worn over their heads. They wore gloves that were black at the hand region itself and had the finger areas being red. There were what appeared to be rings of red metal encircling their wrists. Emblazoned on the bright red vests they wore over their clothes was a black image of what looked sort of like a volcano, but the way it was designed also made the volcano somewhat resemble the letter 'M'._

 _The man and one of the women looked to be like grunts, and though they reached for the small pouches attached to their waists, which were revealed to contain their Pokeballs. In a flash of light, a pair of massive black and grey furred canines emerged from the balls. The crimson eyes of the Mightyena glowed with feral rage as they bared their fangs at the Johto native duo, their muscles tensing as they waited for the commands from their trainers to attack._

 _The other woman, who was quite tall for a woman -probably about five foot nine from his perspective- took a step forward._

 _'She's probably the one in charge.' Naruto thought. 'She has that same air that Wallace, Ruby and Sapphire had when they were part of ROOT. Probably an admin member if that's the case.'_

 _Her uniform was admittedly a lot more stylish as instead of a vest and due to this difference, it seemed to confirm her status as an admin of whatever organization she was a part of. After all, what grunt member would ever stray from the normal uniform?_

 _The woman sported a sleeveless, backless top which was an inverse of what the grunts were wearing -black with a red volcano 'M' emblazoned on it- which seemed to accentuate her very impressive bust. She wore a pair of short tight black pants, with two lapels on the front and back that were also black, but outlined in a fiery red. She wore a pair of boots, but there were armoured plates on the knee areas as well as on the two inch heels they sported, giving her a flare of femininity. She wore an obi around her waist and bandages around her tights and ankles, not giving any prying eyes a look at her legs unlike her grunt colleague who had them practically on display. The fair skinned woman sported dark red arm-warmers which extended up to her shoulders with rings of armour which surrounded her wrists that, unlike the red ones of the grunts, were gold plated. The horns on her hood were curved and also golden, but said hood was allowed to rest behind her and gave the world a look at her rather oddly coloured hair. Having witnessed the naturally deep blue hair of his cousins Wallace and Sapphire, you'd think he would be used to it, but when seeing a woman who had mostly green hair with strands, one short and one long which framed her face, that were orange tipped, well...it would throw one for the loop. Her hair was tied up into a bun on top of her head with a hair needle running through it. Her brown pupil-less eyes gazed directly at him, almost as if they were peering into his soul which kind of ruined the though that she looked pretty cute._

 _She didn't hold a candle to Hinata of course, but cute nonetheless._

 _"...Who are you?" The woman asked, speaking in a rough manner._

 _His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched tightly in anger. "That's what I should be asking you. Why did you do this?"_

 _"Why?" The woman tilted her head in confusion while her facial expression made it look like she was questioning his intelligence. "What Team Magma does is for the benefit of mankind. This was a but a stepping stone, a test for one of the many things that we will accomplish for the sake of the Hoenn region."_

 _"For the Hoenn region? For mankind?" Naruto asked before gesturing to the corpses before them. "You killed Pokemon for the sake of your damned test! What part of that is for the benefit of mankind and this region? What did you even do to this place?!"_

 _"We tried to harness the power of the land." The green haired woman replied. "It did not work out as planned thus it has warranted a return to the drawing board to try again."_

 _"Try again?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You mean you are going to continue to do this?! Kill innocent Pokemon?!"_

 _Her robotic reply was almost instant. "...Yes."_

 _Both trainer and Pokemon backpedaled as if they had been slapped. She was certain, resolute in her words. She would kill and continue do so for the sake of the goals of whatever this Team Magma group was planning. Flashes of everything he saw back during the ROOT War three years ago came to the forefront of his mind. Human and Pokemon alike suffered at the hands of his uncle, and he would rather be smote by Arceus itself than allow for something like that to ever happen again._

 _The brown eyed woman clicked her tongue in annoyance as she saw Naruto take a stance, his fist clenching tightly. His Pokemon's flames burst forth from the ignition patches on its neck which burned as fiercely as the rage in its crimson orbs. She then took a few steps back towards the small red jeep that was parked behind them._

 _A side thought had Naruto wondering how he had not taken notice of the vehicle before, but he quickly returned focus to the battle that was soon to occur as the pair of Team Magma grunts pointed at him and gave their commands._

 _"Mightyena, Shadow Ball!" The Mightyena opened their maws and blobs of shadow energy collected between their fangs before being launched at great speeds._

 _The blonde snarled and he pointed directly at the trio before him. "_ _TYPHLOSION USE FLAME-!"_

 _"KIBA! USE THUNDERBOLT!" The blonde and his partner were interrupted from their attack as the sound of a Pokeball bursting open was heard on his left. Both he and Typhlosion watched as the bluish-white light swirled and took shape, becoming a Pokemon that he knew of and had caught._

 _"LAAAAANTUUUUURN!" The two orbs on the antennae of the Light Pokemon glowed with electrical energy, golden voltage sparking off of its body until it was unleashed as a powerful burst of lightning. The Thunderbolt attack collided with the Shadow Balls and a powerful explosion was generated. The cloud of shadow and voltage quickly dispersed and the look of displeasure on the Team Magma admin's face was paramount as she focused on the Lanturn's trainer._

 _"My My, Pakura-chan." The newcomer laughed, displaying rather unnervingly sharp teeth in her mouth. They were almost akin to those of a Sharpedo's "I didn't think Team Magma could sink any lower, but to start attacking children...tsk tsk."_

 _"Ameyuri Ringo." The name was spoken as if acid were coming off of the tongue._

 _Ameyuri Ringo was the complete opposite to Pakura in terms of stature as she stood at a whopping five foot zilch. Ameyuri had long red hair, obsidian black eyes, and wore a simple ocean blue cloth around her head, distinctively tied at both sides so the ends of the material protruded upwards, while the remainder of hair was allowed to flow downwards. She wore a loose, pin-striped long-sleeved dark blue shirt that had the image a white capital 'A' that seemed to be made out of bones. It was very pirate-like in the way it was designed. Ameyuri also sported an obi around the waist, pants which got much looser near the ends, resembling hakama, and striped leg-warmers that were all a dark blue, matching her shirt. A set of bandages were loosely tied around the neck._

 _"What are you doing here?" The Sharpedo-toothed woman continued to sport a toothy grin as her Lanturn stood on its flippers, electricity lancing off of its body in preparation for another strike._

 _"Ha Ha Ha!" Ameyuri laughed. "Well you see, Team Aqua got word of what you guys were planning to do here. Doing a little test drive of your land creating device is not something the boss likes, Pakura-chan." Her toothy grin immediately fell away as she looked at the crater of burned Pokemon corpses. "And neither do I."_

 _"Tsk. The test is already a failure and I have no time to deal with you, Ameyuri." Pakura turned to her grunts and gestured to the jeep. "Get in!"_

 _"Shadow Ball!"_

 _"YENA!" The two Dark-types unleashed the Shadow Ball attacks once more, but this time they were aimed at the ground at the edge of the former lake. A large dust cloud was generated as the Ghost-type attacks detonated and the sound of the jeep's engine could barely be heard as the accelerator was floored. The moment the dust had settled, the members of Team Magma had already been gone._

 _Ameyuri clicked her tongue in annoyance as she watched the retreating vehicle disappear into the distance. Running a hand though her hair, she sighed before raising her Pokeball._

 _"Well Kiba, that's another failed attempt at trying to stop Team Magma."_

 _"Turn." The dual type Light Pokemon frowned._

 _"It's alright. You did good today, so get some rest."_

 _"Lan." The Water/Electric-type was encased in red light before being sucked into the capturing device. With her Lanturn secured, the red head turned to the blonde beside her. Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion as the shorter woman looked up at him with a very analytical gaze on her face. The way her eyes seemed to gaze beyond his physical form was very unnerving and he unknowingly released the breath he had been holding when she stepped back away from him and folded her arms with a stiff nod._

 _"Well brat, I gotta say..." Her expression switched from one of revelation to a deadpan._ _"...You're an idiot."_

 _Naruto sweardropped and Typhlosion buried it's face into the grass, but the way its body shook and the fact that Naruto could hear the soft barks made him very much aware of his partner Pokemon's amusement._

 _"Well you're certainly a ray of sunshine." Naruto replied in his own deadpan._

 _"Says the kid wanting to take on an admin from a dangerous environmental organization." She fired back. Naruto raised his arms in a placating manner._

 _"Okay lady, listen...I'm not here for a fight." Naruto stated. "I just wanted to take a shortcut through here to get to Littleroot Town, that's all. Me finding those...whoever the hell those people are, that was coincidence."_

 _"Damn right it's a coincidence. No one wants to willingly go up against Team Magma on purpose." Ameyuri laughed. "But I gotta say, kid...your Typhlosion looks pretty tough. I'm sure you could have gotten a few good hits in."_

 _"Thanks, your Lanturn isn't too bad either." He folded his arms over his chest before narrowing his eyes at the suspicious woman. "You sounded like you knew that Pakura woman, and who the hell is Team Magma?"_

 _"The relationship between my organization and Pakura-chan's is no concern of yours, but I will tell you this..." Ameyuri's facial expression hardened as she stared Naruto straight in the eyes. "They may think they are doing the right thing, but Team Magma's plans are a threat to the entire ecosystem of Water-type Pokemon. Whatever test run they did dried up this entire lake and my organization is going to stop them."_

 _The sound of the tall grass rustling from across the lake then caught their attention, all eyes watching while the sound of fast-paced steps against the dirt met their ears. The grass then parted and Naruto and Typhlosion found themselves looking upon a very surprised looking man._

 _The man's skin was white, but there was a bit of a tan to it which was a common feature of those native to the Hoenn region. He had was a tall individual with a bit of a paunch, though he did also seem to be a bit big boned as well as his broad shoulders and muscular legs showed that he was no stranger to the outdoors or exercise. The man had brown hair that was lightly spiked in the back and was parted at the front which gave everyone a view of his rather large forehead. The man was clad in a white laboratory coat over a navy blue t-shirt, a pair of green cargo pants which was held up by a silver buckled belt and a pair of brown sandals. A light brown satchel was slung around his shoulder._ _The man's surprised expression showed his widened dark brown eyes as they looked over the dried up lake and the injured and dead creatures that lay within the basin._

 _Beside the man, a pair of Arcanine strode out of the grass with their riders, members of the Uchiha Police Force._

 _'Man, the Uchiha really get around.' Naruto thought._

 _"By Arceus! What happened?!" The man exclaimed before looking over to Naruto and Typhlosion. "What are you just standing around there by yourselves?! Come on! We need to help these Pokemon!"_

 _The shout from the coat wearing man knocked the two Johto natives out of their stupor before registering what he had just said. The duo turned to the side and their eyes widened as they saw Ameyuri had vanished as if she had never even been there in the first place. Shaking their heads, Naruto and Typhlosion quickly pushed those thoughts aside and skidded down the slope of the basin. Together, the small group placed what little amount of surviving Pokemon present onto the backs of the Arcanine. Once that had been taken care of, the officers prepared to head back in the direction of Odale Town where they were stationed in order to have them healed in the Pokemon Centre._

 _"Professor Birch!" Naruto's eyes widened as he registered the name of the coat wearing man. "There are a bit too much Pokemon here for the Arcanine to take to the Pokemon Centre." One of the officers informed the brown haired man. "I know it's a bit far, but would you be able to take the remaining Pokemon back to your lab in Littleroot? You have a healing machine, correct?"_

 _"I do, officer. I will do my best." Professor Birch replied. The brown haired professor turned to face the blonde trainer and pointed a finger at him. " You there! Naruto-kun! You and your Typhlosion help me out! Be gentle, but take some of these remaining Pokemon back with us to Littleroot! There's no time to waste!"_

 _Naruto and Birch placed a few Tentacool on the Volcano Pokemon's back before the blonde caught sight of something moving out of his peripheral vision. As Typhlosion and Birch slowly made their way up the slop of the former lake, Naruto ventured off in the direction of the movement. He made his way over slowly before finally coming to a stop by some rocks and the charred remains of what looked like a Wailmer. He would never know what that Pokemon was, but he did know what the survivor was._

 _The Pokemon was curled up into a ball, shaking heavily in pain as burn wounds dotted its body. It was a small, amphibious, quadruped Pokémon. It had a blue body with a light-blue underside. It had a large head with a blue fin on top and a light-blue tail fin. It had black, beady eyes and orange, star-shaped gills on its cheeks._

 _"Muuuuudkiiiiip." The Mudfish Pokemon cried out weakly as it struggled to fight against the pain it had to endure._

 _Under any other circumstance, Naruto would have been excited to see the rare occurrence of finding a wild Starter Pokemon like Mudkip, but now was not the time for that. "Shhh, it's okay little guy. I got you. We're gonna make you all better in a jiff, don't you worry." Naruto gently scooped up the injured Pokemon and made his way up to where Typhlosion and Birch were waiting for him._

 _"Let's head back to my lab, Naruto-kun."_

 _"You know, I didn't notice before, but...you...know my name?" The blonde blinked in confusion as he followed after Typhlosion and Birch as they headed towards Littleroot Town._

 _"Of course! You think Saru and Iruka would send me information without telling me about my messengers?" Birch laughed for a brief moment before a serious expression dawned upon his face once more. "We will have much to discuss, Naruto, but for now..." The wild Pokemon expert glanced at the Mudkip in Naruto's arms. "We have our priorities."_

 _End Flashback_

* * *

"And that's what happened." Naruto told his parents. "I called Hina-chan after helping Profesor Birch with the Pokemon getting hooked up to the healing unit, so...yeah."

Kushina's holographic image flickered as if in representation of her unease. _"Well, I'm just glad that you're safe, but this Team Magma sounds really sketchy."_

 _"That Ameyuri woman seems a bit suspect as well. I'll check out Izuna-senpai or maybe Jiraya-sensei to see if they know anything about them."_ Minato informed his son. _"Of course, we won't be able to intervene since the Hoenn Gym Leaders, Elite Four and Champion are in charge of handling their region, but at least we'll be able to help with shedding some light on the situation so you won't have another ROOT debacle."_

"Thanks, Tou-chan."

 _"We got your back, Naru-chan."_ His father winked a holographic eye at him. _"Stay safe and good luck with aiming for the Hoenn League."_

 _"Love you, honey! Hina-chan, Typhlosion, Espeon! Keep a close eye on my boy and keep him out of trouble!"_

"We will."

"Hina-chan!"

"Espe!"

"Ty Ty!"

"You guys!" Naruto pouted at the two Pokemon and his beloved for thinking he needed babysitting. Then again, not even a day had passed and already shit had hit the fan so they had every right to be worried, even if it was in a teasing fashion. On that note, the blonde hung up the Holocaster and stored away the PokeNav. Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his wild mane of hair and turned to his girlfriend.

"Man, fuck this shit." The blonde plopped himself down on the ground roughly with a scowl. "All I wanted to do was drop off this Mega Ring thing for Professor Birch and then go on my way to kick ass and take names when I challenge the Hoenn League. Is that really too much to ask?"

"Now now, Naruto-kun." Hinata patted her beloved on his shoulder. "Everything will work out in the end."

"Yeah. You're right." Naruto smirked. "You're always right."

"And it will remain as such."

"You've gotten really sassy after three years. You know that?"

"I learn from the best." The blue haired coordinator laughed lightly before giving the blue eyed boy a wink.

"Damn right I'm the best."

"I was talking about your mother."

"So mean, Hina-chan." Naruto stuck his tongue out at the pale eyed girl like the mature Master class trainer that he was. However, before the two could resume their daily dose of bantering, the sound of the laboratory's sliding doors opening met their ears. The two trainers and their partner Pokemon all hopped to their feet and dusted themselves off as Professor Birch poked his head around the corner.

"Come inside." The bearded academic was quick to return back inside the building and the four immediately followed after him.

As they stepped inside, they scanned the area while following after the older man. The laboratory was not that much different from Iruka's lab; computers, various types of technological equipment that Naruto and Hinata could not even begin to understand in terms of how they worked and what they did, a largely fenced backyard that doubled as a free range for caught and wild Pokemon to run around in, and a massive wall of desks piled high with books and papers among other forms of stationery. A few of the interns were running around, and due to how quickly they moved from one end of the lab to the other, it made Naruto realize Birch's lab was noticeably smaller. Though this probably was due to the fact that Birch's laboratory did not serve to double as a Pokemon Trainer Academy for youths. Apparently most schooling was done at the Rustboro City Academy and catered to both normal academic students and Pokemon trainers.

The small party came to a halt at the far end of the lab where Professor Birch's main desk was located, its surface equally obscured as the others by a wide variety of stationery. The healing machine in the corner of the room had Naruto glancing at its vibrant green glow every so often as he looked at the Pokeballs which housed the injured Pokemon within them.

"They'll be fine." Professor Birch's voice broke the silence and snapped Naruto out of his thoughts. "My lab's healing technology is second only to those provided to the Pokemon Centres themselves so there's no need to worry all that much, ok?"

Naruto frowned as the image of the Mudkip in his arms flashed to the forefront of his mind, but he merely nodded his head.

"Good, and while I hate to sound so insensitive after everything that has just transpired, I do believe it is time we get down to business." Professor Birch sat himself down at the edge of his desk, a few papers slipping off and wafting to the ground. The wild Pokemon expert paid the papers no mind however as his brown eyes focused intently on the group before him. "So...Saru and Iruka told me about you two and I must say that I am quite impressed with you two. A Grand Festival finalist and a Silver Conference Winner who even bested the Elite Four and defeated one of Izuna Uchiha's Dragonite."

"Thank you." Hinata bowed her head politely. "We worked very hard to get to where we are."

"I can only imagine." Birch chuckled. "Even researchers like myself started out as trainers one way or another, but we all have our respective callings. Mine happened to be on the study of wild Pokemon. However, I'm not here to discuss old stories of my youth. You have the items that Saru and Iruka talked about? The Mega Bracelet?"

Naruto and Hinata both raised their arm and showed their respective silver bracelets that encircled their wrists.

"Yeah." The blue eyed boy then glanced down at the bracelet with a furrowed brow, the rainbow coloured image of the stone that was embedded into the bracelet reflecting brightly within his irises. "Professor...what exactly is this thing?"

"That is the point of you two bringing these items with you." Birch replied. "You see those rainbow coloured stones embedded into the bracelets? Those are very rare items known as Key Stones."

"Key Stones?"

"Espe?"

The Hyuga heiress tilted her head in tandem with her Psychic-type partner, equally confused expressions decorating their faces.

"Yes." Birch nodded stiffly. "This is all related to the phenomenon known as Mega Evolution. Professor Sarutobi and Iruka both probably gave you two the most minimal explanation of the phenomenon known as Mega Evolution when they tasked you all with coming here, and Mega Evolution is far more than just being a different form of evolution. Mega Evolution's occurrence was first recorded 3000 years ago during the Great War in the Kalos region, the act being supposedly performed by a Lucario. However, recent architectural excavations in the Granite Cave located in Dewford Town dates back much further than that and thus tells the story of Mega Evolution actually finding its origins here within the Hoenn region. Studies have shown that there are a wide variety of forms of Mega Evolution, but interestingly enough, this evolution is only found to be performed by the final evolutionary forms of Pokemon."

"So can any Pokemon undergo Mega Evolution?" Hinata asked.

Birch pointed at the Key Stones on the Mega Bracelets, his eyes lighting up with wonder as he went into a 'lecture mode' that the two trainers before him were very much familiar with due to their experiences as students with Iruka.

"No!" The man exclaimed, shocking the four in front of him. "And that's one of the many intriguing things about Mega Evolution! It is a very rare thing in the world of Pokemon as out of the 718 Pokemon that are currently recorded in our world as a result of the studies done in the Alola region, only a minuscule 46 of those Pokemon are capable of performing Mega Evolution! That is 6.40 percent, if we simply restrict ourselves to two decimal places, of the entire Pokemon population!"

"So what exactly does the Key Stone have to do with this?"

"That, my dear Naruto, is truly a mystery, but it is found that trainers who possess a Key Stone in conjunction with a Pokemon that holds what is known as a Mega Stone...that Pokemon is able to undergo Mega Evolution. Interestingly, Mega Evolution is found to be a process that occurs during battle, and _only_ during battle."

"So you mean once the Pokemon finishes fighting, it just, what?" Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Turns back to normal?"

"That's exactly what happens, believe it or not."

"Oh!" Naruto's eyes widened. He got it in one.

"Yes, and Mega Evolution is dangerously powerful. Depending on the Pokemon, Mega Evolution can give various changes to various stats such as Attack and Defense, and even give the Pokemon different typings or abilities!" Birch explained. "Mega evolved Pokemon are essentially monsters evolved to do battle. Their powers are practically unparalleled and though mathematically it is proven probable, a Mega Evolution Pokemon can rarely be matched by any regular Pokemon. My studies have shown that only other Mega Evolution Pokemon have been capable of handling each other, and it is truly a sight to behold."

Birch walked around his desk and opened up his top drawer, taking out a black box. Placing a thumb onto the small rectangular space atop the box, the rectangle suddenly lit up with green light as the box read his fingerprint and opened up with a snap and a hiss. The box was opened to reveal a red velvet interior containing two Mega Stones.

They were similarly decorated with the same wave-shaped insignia as the Key Stone, but the similarities ended there. The Mega Stones were noticeably larger than the Key Stones and while the Key Stones were rainbow coloured, these Mega Stones were of vastly different colours. The first stone was a bright blue with the wave-shaped insignia being coloured red and a dark navy blue, bordering on black. The second stone was a beautiful shade of forest green with the insignia being red and dark green.

"These Mega Stones are the only ones that I have been capable of finding during my field studies. As part of my research, seeing as how you two no doubt plan to travel across the Hoenn region, I would like you two to take these remaining two Mega Stones and hold on to them until the Pokemon that are associated with them are able to Mega evolve and you can tell me what your findings are. What are the physical changes to the Pokemon that occur? Are there any changes to their types and abilities? Things like that."

"What Pokemon exactly are these two associated with?" Hinata asked as she eyed the green Mega Stone.

"In spite of the lack of creativeness in terms of naming these Mega Stones, these stones are called Swampertite..." Birch gestured to the blue Mega Stone. "and Sceptilite." He pointed to the green one. "As you can tell, these Mega Stones would therefore be associated with the Pokemon Swampert and Sceptile respectively. Swampert is the final evolution of Mudkip and Sceptile is the final evolution of Treeko, both of which are starter Pokemon that I usually hand out to young trainers who are deemed ready to start their journeys."

Birch walked back over to his desk and went through the same process of unlocking a rectangular black box. This box contained a single red and white Pokeball resting on a red velvet pillow which had two empty places which was obviously for two other Pokeballs.

"I think Treeko will do nicely in your hands, Hinata-san." He handed the Pokeball from the box over to her along with the Sceptilite. "And Naruto-kun, since you were the one to have brought it back to my lab for healing..." The brown haired professor went over to the healing machine and withdrew one of the Pokeballs and handed it over to the blonde along with the Swampertite. "by all means, it would only be right for you to be the one to carry Mudkip and the Swampertite for when the time is right for it to show its true potential."

"Thank you, Professor Birch."

The two trainers as they shrunk the Pokeballs and placed them in their bags with the Mega Stones. At that very moment, a familiar beeping echoed throughout the laboratory and with almost instinctive reactions, the two reached into their pockets. Naruto whipped out his orange Pokedex and Hinata retrieved her lavender coloured own.

 **Mudkip the Mud Fish Pokemon. A Water-type Pokemon. In water, Mudkip breathes using the gills on its cheeks. If it is faced with a tight situation in battle, this Pokémon will unleash its amazing power—it can crush rocks bigger than itself.**

 **Treeko the Wood Gecko Pokemon. A Grass-type Pokemon. Treecko has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This Pokémon attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail.**

"Sweet." Naruto commented. "Guess we know that that National Dex upgrade Professor Iruka gave us works."

"Ah yes!" Birch's eyes brightened as he eyed the technological marvels of his colleague's creation. "In addition to studying Mega Evolution, I'm sure completing the Pokedex for the Hoenn region will no doubt be a fun objective for you two."

"Oh, by the way...Professor Birch?"

"Yes, Hinata-san?"

"In both of your boxes, I assume that they were built to hold three objects each." The professor nodded his head in confirmation to the pale eyed coordinator's comment. "I have Treeko's Pokeball and the Sceptilite, and since Naruto-kun has the Swampertite, I'm assuming the second Pokeball that was from the Pokeball box was used to hold Mudkip."

"You are correct." Birch nodded in confirmation.

"So where are the third Pokeball and Mega Stone?" Hinata asked.

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, two of your colleagues arrived a whole week earlier than you did." Professor Birch explained. "The girl, sweet thing really, but she was quite clear that she was not interested in going along with my Mega Evolution study, so I gave the Torchic that was to go alongside the Blazikenite to the boy. An Uchiha, I believe he was. A bit cold, but a very competent young man from what I could gather."

"Oh right." Naruto planted a hand into his palm, a look of realization on his face. "I forgot we were supposed to meet up with Sakura-chan and Sasuke after we sorted all this out."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata sweatdropped at her boyfriend's absentmindedness. "Anyway, we'll just call them on the Holocaster and ask them where they are so we can meet up with them."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Naruto nodded in agreement as he whipped out his PokeNav and took a look at the map app. "Well, it looks like the first place with a gym is Petalburg City. We'll give them a call on the way there."

"Sounds like a plan. Come on Espeon."

"Esp!"

With one last farewell and thank you to Birch, the two teenage trainers and their partner Pokemon walked out of the laboratory as Naruto dialed to call Sasuke.

* * *

Devon Corportation, Rustboro City, Hoenn Region 

Sakura sighed as she swung her legs back and forth. Emerald eyes glanced up as a lengthy shadow encompassed her and she found herself gazing into the golden orbs of her partner Pokemon.

"Mega, Mega Meg?" Sakura smiled as Meganium nuzzled her.

"I'm fine, Meganium. Just a bit bored." Sakura stroked the underside of the Grass-type's chin as a form of reassurance before turning to the side as a small figure hopped into place in front of her. "But I guess I can relieve that boredom since I have a cute little guy like you to help me out, huh?"

In her hands, the pink haired coordinator scooped up the Fire-type starter Pokemon that Professor Birch had given to the Uchiha trainer as per the request of Professor Sarutobi and Iruka.

Torchic was a small, chick Pokémon with stubby, downy, yellow wings. Its body was covered with orange feathers, and there was as an orange and yellow crest on its head that resembled a flame. Its two thin legs and short beak were of a light brownish yellow, and each of its feet had three toes in front and one in the back. Its eyes were circular and so black that it seemed as if you were staring into an empty void. A small black speck was present of the bird-like Pokemon's rear thus identifying the diminutive Fire-type as the male sex of its species.

"Tor Torchic!" The Chick Pokemon chirped before it began to kick out violently. Sakura immediately rested the Fire-type starter on the ground and watched with a giggle as it ran across the carpeted floor and took its place beside its trainer. "Tor!"

Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance at how clingy the Chick Pokemon was and glanced down at the black Pokedex in his hands, reading the entry for the Hoenn starter Pokemon.

 **Torchic the Chick Pokemon. A Fire-type Pokemon. Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with unsteady steps. This Pokémon breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black.**

Sakura giggled as she leaned over and read the entry. "Looks like that Pokedex entry was kind of right, though I wouldn't call those steps unsteady when it followed behind you."

"Hn." The Uchiha scowled. "It's annoying."

"It's cute. Although, sometimes I do wonder about my cute little guy." Sasuke raised an eyebrow before sweatdropping as the girl flipped out her Pokedex to show the page on her newest permanent team member.

The Pokedex entry revealed the image of a small, caterpillar-like Pokémon. Its body was mainly red with a cream underside and face. It had large yellow eyes with dark pupils. It had one sharp yellow stinger on its head and two of them on its rear. It had a tall, erect, red spine behind its forehead and a similar, smaller spine behind that. It had small spikes running down the top portions of its body and five pairs of stubby white limbs.

 **Wurmple the Worm Pokemon. A Bug-type Pokemon.** **Using the spikes on its rear end, Wurmple peels the bark off trees and feeds on the sap that oozes out. This Pokémon's feet are tipped with suction pads that allow it to cling to glass without slipping.**

"I hope it evolves into a Silcoon so I can get a Beautifly."

"Hn."

"Neh, Sasuke-kun, which do you think is cuter? My Wurmple or your Torchic?"

"Doesn't matter." He replied. "They are both annoyingly clingy."

"Awww, you said that about me in the beginning too, but look at us now." She beamed as she scooted closer to the raven haired boy and rested her head on his shoulder. "After so many years of liking you, and you finally asked me out and to be your girlfriend."

A black eyebrow was arched as Sasuke glanced down at the smiling girl. "Last I checked, you were the one who persistently asked me to go on dates."

"A girl can dream, but hey..." She raised her head and planted her lips on the taller boy's cheek. "At least half my dream came true."

Sasuke huffed as he turned away from his significant other, a blush slowly growing on his face which made not only Sakura and Meganium chuckle, but also the blue scaled reptile that rested beside him.

"I hate you."

"Gatr." The Big Jaw Pokemon shrugged and continued to express its amusement.

Sasuke then turned away from the Water-type Pokemon as he felt the vibrations of his PokeNav from within the pouch he had attached to his pocket. Whipping out the device, he saw the flashing blue orb that meant that a call was being made. He turned to Sakura with a quizzical expression, and the green eyed coordinator merely shrugged at him before gesturing to answer the call.

Sasuke pressed the 'Answer' button.

 _"Oi, teme!"_

Sasuke's eye twitched as he saw the holographic form of his rival appear before him. "Dobe? How did you get my contact number?"

 _"It's the same number as your Pokegear number, dumbass."_ Sasuke's eye twitched once more. _"Remember we just upgraded to the PokeNavs from the Pokegears."_

"Hn." Sasuke would never give Naruto the satisfaction of an argument. Uchiha pride and all that.

 _"Hi Sasuke-san!"_ Hinata's image popped in alongside her boyfriend's. _"Sakura-san!"_

 _"Sakura-chan's there?!"_ His blue light-made form grinned as he shifted and caught sight of his friend. _"What's_ _up?!"_

"Hey, you two!" Sakura gave them both a friendly wave before noting the lack of Pokemon. "Where are Espeon and Typhlosion?"

 _"Espeon!"_

 _"Typhlo!"_

The two Pokemon popped up as they heard their names being called. Feraligatr and Meganium immediately perked up and gave their cries of greeting as they saw the four figures that now crowded the very narrow beam of blue light.

"Feraligatr!"

"Mega Meg!"

"Torchic?" Torchic tilted its head cutely as it watched the four blue images of pixels and light shimmer in front of it, its black eyes staring in wonder. "Toooooor."

Typhlosion and Espeon's eyes widened as they looked at the adorable Chick Pokemon.

 _"Ty Tyyyyyy!"_

 _"Espeeeeee!"_

 _"Yes, the Torchic is admittedly cute."_ Naruto grunted as he was being shoved around by his own Fire-type Pokemon. _"Alright, you guys can gush over how cute the Torchic is and have your reunion chats when we meet up with Teme and Sakura-chan!"_

The two Pokemon pouted as they dropped out of the holographic image as they were pulled to the side by Hinata. Naruto straightened himself out as his holographic image was the only one visible to Sasuke, Sakura and the three Pokemon.

"So what did you call for, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

 _"Well, Hina-chan and I just got in earlier today and just met up with Professor Birch. Hina-chan got Treeko and the Sceptilite, and I got Mudkip and the Swampertite to help him out with his Mega Evolution research before he told us he met you and Sakura-chan earlier in the week."_ Naruto explained before glancing at the Torchic before him once more, eyeing the little necklace it wore which had a cream coloured orb with a crimson and black patterned Mega Evolution insignia decorating it.

 _"I'm assuming that's the Torchic and Blazikenite, Professor Birch said he gave to you?"_

Sasuke nodded.

 _"Okay, well Hina-chan and I are heading to Petalburg City right now. Tell us where you guys are so then we can arrange where we can meet up."_

"We're in Rustboro City right now." Sakura informed the blonde trainer. "Izuna-sama gave us a little errand to run for him at the Devon Corporation, so we wouldn't mind waiting for you guys here. Neh, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

 _"As vocal as ever, teme."_ Sasuke directed an icy glare at his rival for his deadpan response. _"Anyway, Hina-chan and I are good to go for that plan. We'll see you guys in Rustboro. Later!"_

The Silver Conference Champion hung up and his hologram vanished. The conversation had ended on good timing too for as soon as the Holocaster call ended, the two trainers and their Pokemon all glanced up at a tall, tan skinned man dressed in a dark blue suit, similarly coloured sunglasses and had all the makings of a security officer as he walked towards them.

"Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha?" The man asked.

"That's right." Sakura replied as she and her boyfriend rose to their feet.

"Mr. Stone will see you now."

The two trainers nodded and they followed after the security officer with their Pokemon towards the elevator.

"While I do understand the want to hang out with your Pokemon, an elevator such as this one isn't exactly catered to bearing the full brunt of heavy weight Pokemon like your Meganium and Feraligatr.

Meganium's eyes narrowed. "Meganium?"

"No, he's not calling you fat." Sakura sweatdropped as she took out the Grass-type's PokeBall. "Come on, in you go."

A beam of red light came forth from the capturing device and the Herb Pokemon was sucked in as it was converted to energy. Sasuke did the same for Feraligatr, as well as Torchic. Having a diminutive, hyperactive and young Pokemon running around a massive building like the headquarters of Devon Corporation was bound to lead to trouble, so it was best to have the Chick Pokemon stored away.

The elevator ride was smooth and quick, and soon the small group stepped out onto the top floor.

"Right this way." The blue suited man led them down the lengthy, carpeted hallways before they came to a stop in front of a pair of large, dark brown mahogany doors. The security officer rapped his knuckles against the door.

"Enter." Was the muffled command. With a turn of the golden handle, the door was opened for them and the two trainers stepped forwards into the massive office that could only be found from a high ranking company CEO.

The office was easily as big as the waiting room in the Indigo Plateau, a room that was actually able to hold at least fifty people without even being crowded. Its walls decorated with stone grey wallpaper and the floors were a beautiful obsidian marble. A few bookshelves lined the walls, all of which were practically at the bursting point as each shelf was completely lined with books of varying thickness. The entire front of the office room was a massive glass window which allowed for a great amount of natural light into the room. Resting in a cushy leather chair behind a large wooden desk in front of said massive window sat the man himself.

Mr. Stone was nearing the age of being considered elderly, but even though three years had passed, he continuously insisted he was still fifty-five. However, the appearance of the seventy-five year old CEO clearly did not reflect his age as he was a very sturdy looking figure. Despite being thin, Mr. Stone possessed broad shoulders and a straight back that seemed to make his lesser than average height of 5'7" very imposing. His hair was a shining silver and was well maintained, just like the bushy mustache that decorated his upper lip. His clothing consisted of the finest looking black suit with a red tie tied securely around his neck. Wrinkles adorned his skin as well as a few liver spots on his hands, but all of these were ignored as piercing silver-blue eyes met the pairs of green and black before him.

"Leave us." The elderly man's command was strong like stone, though was contrasted by the soft tone. The security officer nodded and closed the doors behind him. Mr. Stone gestured to the pair of arm chairs that rested in front of him, chairs that seemed almost as cushy as his own. "Please, have a seat."

They sat down and Sasuke, being the ever-paranoid type, surveyed the man before him as said man played with the set of evolutionary stones he had resting on small pedestals on his desk. Fire Stone, Water Stone, Dusk Stone, Dawn Stone; they were all there. A few moments of silence passed as Mr. Stone arranged the few scattered papers on his desk and fiddled around with his laptop. Once that was done, the CEO turned his attention to the pair before him.

"Tell me you two..." His voice was the same as when he spoke to the security officer, soft yet sturdy, and his eyes narrowed as a glint of seriousness appeared on his face. Sasuke and Sakura sweated lightly from the tension that now filled the room, but that tension immediately vanished as the elderly man gestured to his stone collection with a bright smile. "what do you think of my stone collection, very interesting isn't it?"

"Eh?"

"Yes, I know! You would never expect to see the evolutionary stones all together in one place, but even as a young boy, even while I was raising my boy Steven, I always had a fascination with the geology of the Pokemon world. I mean, how exactly does a piece of rock possess the innate capability to trigger evolution for Pokemon?! It's just magnificently astounding!" Mr. Stone exclaimed with a jovial laugh. "Tell me, Haruno-kun, what do you think of stones? Fascinating, right?"

"I...guess?" Sakura replied with a slight shrug. "I mean, I did have a Pikachu that I evolved into a Raichu so..."

"Excellent, Haruno-kun!" Mr. Stone's eyes sparkled with childish glee as he jumped out of his chair. "Using the amazing capabilities of the Thunder Stone is no doubt quite a step for a trainer such as yourself! But Uchiha-kun, what about you?!"

"Hn."

"I see. I understand, you are so astounded that you are practically speechless by the world's stones." Mr. Stone nodded in understanding. Clearly, he did not understand that Sasuke just did not care. "In fact, I spent a lot of time researching mysterious ruins and stones, and once upon a time I came across a magnificent set of ruins. There was this odd language etched into the stones and though I spent a lot of time and effort to my then-growing company of Devon, I was still able to find time to try and discover the way to translate the ancient language of these ruins!"

Mr. Stone reached into his pocket and took out a small envelope that was sealed with a red wax stamp bearing the letter 'S'. Possibly for Stone, the two trainer guessed. "My son, he is also quite a stone enthusiast. A young lad with a passion for the archaic history of the world, just like his old man, but he does get his pretty-boy persona from his mother, may she rest in peace. However, we shall not dawdle on the past, but instead focus on the present and the future and so I would like the two of you to perform an errand for me as Izuna-kun should have informed you about!"

Mr. Stone walked out from behind his desk and handed the envelope to Sakura. "My dear boy, Steven, he is currently overseeing a new set of ruins he discovered deep within the bowels of the Granite Cave in Dewford Town and so I would like you to deliver that letter to him for me!"

"Ummm...okay." Sakura laughed nervously. "Not a problem."

The silver-blue eyed man nodded and continued to laugh jovially as he made his way over to his desk. A small 'click' was heard as a switch had been flipped, and a small compartment opened up within Mr. Stone's desk. A sudden tension filled the room just as it had earlier in the meeting. The elderly CEO reached into the compartment and pulled out a small brown case.

"Listen to me carefully, Haruno-kun, Uchiha-kun." The man's soft voice seemed to have gotten even softer as his eyes seemed to harden like steel. "The loud and boisterous task of delivering a letter to my son in Dewford is still something I want done, but it is to disguise the fact that I have a secondary task. This task is actually much more important than the letter delivery."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, his own serious persona making itself known.

"For quite some time, I have allied myself with Captain Stern of Slateport City to bring about the creation of an amazing technological marvel." Mr. Stone stated. The serious air was still present, but there was a bit of childish excitement hidden beneath his steely gaze. "A submarine."

"A submarine?" Sakura and Sasuke looked to each other and then back to Mr. Stone.

"What is the purpose of the submarine?"

"You ask good questions, Uchiha-kun." Mr. Stone chuckled. "Many legends of Hoenn tell of ancient ruins and caves existing since before World War 3, and even prior to the age of man itself, back during the age of the primordial god-like Pokemon as they walked the ancient planet. In order to explore these ruins, the Submarine Explorer 1, the name we've given to our submarine, requires a specific component in order to withstand the great amounts of pressure that is exerted at the depths of the ocean floor. The heart component as I've come to call it."

"And that suitcase contains the component." Sakura stated. "You need us to take it to Captain Stern for you to finish the submarine."

"Bright girl you are, Haruno-kun." The silver haired man nodded.

"Then why are you being so cautious with us right now?" Sasuke asked.

"Again with such brilliant curiosity, Uchiha-kun." Mr. Stone gripped the case a bit tighter in his hands. "You see, I will admit that this is just the finishing piece to complete the submarine, but I have a feeling that I cannot trust that man I call a guard outside."

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I know every member of my staff and that man is not one of them."

CRASH!

The doors burst open as a massive flood of water rushed into the office. The waters were so voluminous that they came up to the office occupants' knees, but they didn't seem to bother the blue haired security officer as he walked through with a shake of his head. He chuckled and it was then that the two Johto natives and their client took note of the fact that the man's teeth were terribly sharp, almost like the teeth of the Sharpedo that swam next to him.

"God this make-up is itchy." The man threw off his sunglasses and ripped off his suit as he proceeded to wipe off the make up that made his skin tanned, revealing his true skin colour to be a rather shocking shade of...

"You're blue?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah." The blue skinned man laughed as he ripped off the shirt and jacket of his suit to reveal his muscular chest which bore a white tattoo in the shape of an 'A' made out of what seemed to be bones. "Rare skin mutation on dear old mama's side, but I honestly don't care."

"Team Aqua."

"Mr. Stone, you know these guys?" Sakura asked.

"Not personally, but there have been rumours going around about an eco-terrorist group threatening the region. Team Aqua is the one I know of."

"Ah, old man, that's flattering that you know my team." A lopsided grin stretched across the blue haired assailant's face. "Well as a little reward for that, I'll let you in on my identity as Kisame Hoshikgaki. I'm an admin for Team Aqua..." The grin dropped as Kisame pointed at the case in Mr. Stone's hands. "Now hand over the heart component and nobody gets hurt."

"That's what they all say." Sasuke replied as he made a move for Feraligatr's PokeBall. However, the teenaged trainer was caught off-guard as there was a splash of water and suddenly he found himself staring into the bright red eyes of the Water/Dark-type Pokemon.

"SHAR-PEDO!" The Brutal Pokemon was not given that title for nothing as it slammed into Sasuke with the use of its Agility attack. The young Uchiha was knocked to the side, slamming into a bookshelf.

"Sasuke-kun!" .

"To be fair, I did warn him, but...an Uchiha in the room, especially one as strong as the runner-up of the Kanto-Johto Silver Conference Victory Tournament is bound to be a pain in the ass, but don't worry, he'll live." The blue skinned man's beady black eyes seemed to stare into Sasuke's soul as the obsidian eyed boy slowly climbed back to his feet, wincing as he glanced down at his stomach where he now had a few scratches due to Sharpedo's Rough Skin ability. Sakura flinched as the blue skinned man focused his gaze upon her.

"SAKURA!"

"AH!" Sakura cried out in surprise as the evolved form of Carvanha sped across the miniature lake it had created with whatever Water-type move it had utilized and the pink haired girl was forced to raise her arms in a feeble form of defense as it raced towards her. However, the sudden shift to the left as the Sharpedo leaped out of the water revealed that she was not the intended target. Sakura's emerald orbs followed after the swift moving Sharpedo as its jaws opened wide upon nearing Mr. Stone.

Pearly whites clamped down. The sound of flesh and bone being torn through along with Mr. Stone's brief, yet traumatizing cry of pain, echoed throughout the room. Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened as Sharpedo circled around the water-filled room and back to its trainer's side with the suitcase...with Mr. Stone's hand still attached to it.

"Atta boy, Samehada." The sharp-toothed man patted his Pokemon on the snout as he took the suitcase from his Pokemon's jaws. He then tossed the hand back into the air and the two young trainers could only narrow their eyes in rage as the Brutal Pokemon arched through the air and gulped down the dismembered piece of an upper limb. "Now, fortunately for you kiddies, now that I have this...I don't need to be here anymore and you can try and save the old man. Unfortunately...he's bleeding out really bad since Samehada would have bitten off from where his radial artery is. Have fun saving lives, heroes!"

Hopping atop Samehada, the Sharpedo took that as its cue and rocketed across the water-filled room before hopping through the air, over the desk and smashing through the glass window like it was nothing. Given the fact that the window was made out of tempered glass, Sharpedo or not, shattering it was still quite a feat. The two trainers then watched as the assailant quickly switched out his Sharpedo for a new Pokemon.

It was a pelican-like Pokémon whose head and bill made up the majority of its body. It had white feathers with a short, blue crest on top of its head. There were three blue digits on each of its wide wings, and it had blue feet with three webbed digits. Each eye was made of two black semicircles with a horizontal white line between them. Its large yellow bill appeared to extend along its underside.

"Pelipper!" The Water Bird Pokemon cried out as it materialized from its PokeBall beneath its trainer. With a quick flap of its wings, the Water/Flying-type flew off before Sasuke or Sakura could even make a move.

* * *

 **(A/N: And thus shit has already hit the fan. Team Aqua and Magma waste no time in doing what they need to do for their respective plans, even if it means killing Pokemon and biting off people's hands. Also, just a little note that the Pokedex aspect at the end will be limited to the ORAS version of the Pokedex and not the National Dex so that it will be easier to follow in terms of Seen and Caught. It's going to be a very lengthy updating time between chapters as I am in my last year of med school and I thought if I'm not able to get past updating my current stories, maybe I should at least try to make this one. Hope you guys liked this chapter and remember to review, review, review!)**

* * *

 **Pokedex:**

 **Seen- 7**

 **Caught- 4**

* * *

 **Character Bio: Pakura**

 **Eye Colour: Brown**

 **Hair Colour: Green and Orange**

 **About: She is admin of the enigmatic eco-terrorist group known as Team Magma. As a former native of the Orre Region, Pakura was forced to flee from her home region due to her being a wanted criminal who was responsible for a string of arson related incidents across the region through the use of her Fire-types. She smuggled herself out of the region by hiding within the cargo hold of the S.S. Tidal and thus found herself with a clean slate in the Hoenn Region. Being unable to escape her villainous tendencies to commit arson, she was a bit more secretive when it came to performing them. However, she was eventually found out, but her captors were not the police, but rather Team Magma. Her acts were labelled as being an expert in the handling of Fire-types and so Team Magma recruited her where she was quickly promoted to the rank of Admin.**

* * *

 **Naruto's Team:**

Typhlosion (Male)

Mudkip (Male)

 **Hinata's Team:**

Espeon (Female)

Treeko (Male)

 **Sasuke's Team:**

Feraligatr (Male)

Torchic (Male)

 **Sakura's Team:**

Meganium (Female)

Wurmple (Female)


	2. Chapter 2:Test Drive

Naruto: Emerald Adventures

Chapter 2: Test Drive

Route 102, Hoenn Region 

The original plan was for the walk to be at least a two trip. One day would be devoted to going from Littleroot Town to Petalburg City where they would then rest at the Pokemon Centre before continuing from there to move through the Petalburg Woods to meet up with Sasuke and Sakura at Rustboro. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Apparently using the small walk between New Bark Town to Cherrygrove City was not an ideal thing to use as a comparative method of estimating the length of time from the region's alleged 'point of origin' to the first major city. Going from New Bark to Cherrygrove took no less than a couple of hours, and though the PokeNav SHOWED Naruto that the distance between Littleroot and Petalburg was significant, he refused to believe that it would take more than a day.

"Maybe we should just stop off in Odale Town and pace ourselves, Naruto-kun." Hinata had suggested. "We aren't in any great rush to get to Rustboro."

"Bah." The blonde Champion-class trainer had immediately shut down his girlfriend's suggestion. "Ye of little faith, Hina-chan. We've walked much farther distances in less time, I'm sure we can do it."

Hinata loved her boyfriend and so she followed his judgement. He was right. They could do it, they could make it to Petalburg City in two days. Unfortunately for Hinata and the two partner Pokemon traveling with them...Naruto was very easily distracted.

Naruto was thus proven wrong. Oh so very wrong.

Caught up in the excitement of seeing the new Pokemon of the Hoenn region, and his newfound obsessive-compulsive manner to catch them all for the Pokedex served to be quite the distraction. Especially when the blonde decided to take an entire day to look around Route 103, which was entirely not in the direction of Route 102 which would have taken them to Petalburg City.

It was...quite a frustrating ordeal to say the least, and unfortunately for Naruto, he had been given quite the cold shoulder from his beloved.

"...Hina-chan?" Blue eyes glanced shyly off to the side as they made their way towards the Petalburg Pokemon Centre. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Her voice was stern and the blonde's shoulders sagged heavily at the response.

"I love you."

"I love you too, but that doesn't change the fact that I am mad at you for making us take such a long time to get here."

"But look at the bright side."

"Espeon?"

"Typhlo?"

"What bright side, Naruto-kun?" A dark blue eyebrow arched in tandem to the confused expressions from Typhlosion and Espeon.

"We got to catch a whole bunch of the Hoenn region Pokemon for the Pokedex!" He reached into his girlfriend's back pocket and withdrew the lavender coloured National Dex, proceeding to shove the device in her face and scroll through the new entries.

 **Poochyena the Bite Pokemon. A Dark-type Pokemon.** **At first sight, Poochyena takes a bite at anything that moves. This Pokémon chases after prey until the victim becomes exhausted. However, it may turn tail if the prey strikes back.**

 **Zigzagoon the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. A Normal-type Pokemon.** **Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This Pokémon does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see.**

 **Lotad the Water Weed Pokemon. A Water/Grass-type Pokemon. Lotad live in ponds and lakes, where they float on the surface. It grows weak if its broad leaf dies. On rare occasions, this Pokémon travels on land in search of clean water.**

 **Seedot the Acorn Pokemon. A Grass-type Pokemon. Seedot attaches itself to a tree branch using the top of its head. It sucks moisture from the tree while hanging off the branch. The more water it drinks, the glossier this Pokémon's body becomes.**

"I mean...you even got to catch that Ralts. Those are supposed to be super rare to find in these parts according to what Professor Birch told us."

Hinata's lips shifted from a deep frown to only being a small one as the Silver Conference winner pointed to the image of the white-skinned Pokemon.

 **Ralts the Feeling Pokemon. A Psychic/Fairy-type Pokemon.** **Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition.**

"Well...I guess that's true." She muttered. "Ever since the Fairy-type disposition was discovered a few months ago, I have wanted to get a chance to use one."

"And you did! We got to train with them, you know build up our bonds and level them up!" The bullshit flowed from his lips like water and Typhlosion could not help but shake its head with a sigh. "I mean, your Treeko learned Absorb and my Mudkip learned Water Gun. I say the small delay in travel time was worth it."

The fact that he labeled it as a 'small delay' was what shattered his entire argument into pieces. The pale-eyed girl directed a glare at him as her deep frown returned with a vengeance.

"Four days, Naruto-kun." She stated as she raised four fingers. "You proudly stated we could do this journey in two, and it took four."

His shoulders drooped once more. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

The trainers and their partner Pokemon walked along the path through the tall grass that would take them to Petalburg City's western entrance, but as they grew closer to the city, the cries of Pokemon met their ears. The four turned around as a loud cry of "Tackle attack!" met their ears.

"Hmm?"

Naruto and Hinata blinked in confusion as they saw three figures in the near distance. Two of them were middle-aged men who were standing off to the side as they observed the third figure, a young boy who looked no older than twelve as he commanded a Zigzagoon in a battle against a Ralts.

"Ok!" The pre-teen trainer nodded pointed at the enemy Ralts. "Zigzagoon, use Tackle again!"

"Zig!" The Normal-type Pokemon charged towards its target. The Feeling Pokemon quickly managed to dodge the oncoming charge, but Zigzagoon dug its claws into the turned and turned back around swiftly. The sudden turnaround caught the Psychic/Fairy-type off-guard and Ralts released a cry of pain as the Normal-type Pokemon's skull was buried into its chest.

The Ralts was sent skidding backwards and suddenly its horn began to glow with blue light.

"Shit." The boy cursed. "Zigzagoon, hit it with Growl!"

"Zigzagoooooon!" The Tiny Raccoon Pokemon inhaled deeply before releasing a loud cry.

"Raaaalts!" The Ralts released a cry of annoyance as the Growl attack assaulted its ears. However, while it did reduce the power behind the attack, it did little to reduce the overall accuracy of the Confusion attack it let loose. The pulse of psionic energy rushed towards Zigzagoon, hitting it square in the face. Zigzagoon grunted as it was sent flying back into a nearby tree, but the Normal-type was quick to get back onto its feet.

"Zigzagoon, Tail Whip!" Zigzagoon nodded and rushed towards Ralts just as the Psychic/Fairy-type prepared to launch another Confusion attack. Zigzagoon's speed was much too great for the lower leveled Pokemon and Ralts founds its balance lost for a brief moment as Zigzagoon's Tail Whip struck its lower body and left it open to attack. "Now finish it with Tackle!"

"GOON!" Zigzagoon's leg muscles tensed and the quadrupedal Pokemon charged forth, nailing its opponent with a powerful Tackle attack. The Ralts was sent careening through the air and landing painfully on its back amongst the tall grass. Winded and stunned, the Ralts lay on the ground long enough for the boy to release a cry of joy and surprise.

"I did it!"

"Oi! Don't just stand there, catch it!" One of the men exclaimed, the cigarette in his mouth almost falling to the ground.

"Huh?" The boy blinked owlishly before nodding. "Oh...uuuh...right! Catch it!" He dug around his pockets and Naruto, Hinata and their partner Pokemon all sweatdropped from their positions as bystanders as the capturing device expanded in the boy's hands, but his nerves were so intense that he was forced to juggle the ball for a moment.

"Poke Ball, go!" The scarf-wearing pre-teen threw the red and white orb, nailing the stunned Ralts right in the face. Opening out, the Ralts was converted into energy and sucked into the ball. The boy swallowed nervously, the perspiration on his brow growing with each second as he watched the ball shake once...twice...three times.

"I did it?" The brown haired boy blinked like a Hoothoot as he looked back between the ball and black-haired man behind him. "D-D-Did you see that, Oji-san?! I-I did it! I did it, I caught a Pokemon!" Coal coloured eyes sparkled with childish wonder and glee as he ran and scooped up the Poke Ball into his hands. "I caught a Ralts!"

"Yeah you did." The man smirked as the younger boy ran back to him and proceeded to congratulate him with a high-five. "Good job."

"Zig Zig!" Zigzagoon trotted towards the man and chuckled as he began patting the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon on the head with pride.

"Yeah you did a good job, Zigzagoon." The black haired raised up its Poke Ball and tapped it on the forehead. "And for that, you deserve a good rest."

"Zigza!" The Normal-type's tail wagged with glee from the praise before it was returned to the Poke Ball as a beam of red energy. Pocketing the ball, the black haired man took a drag from the cigarette clenched between his teeth before turning to the man beside him.

"What do you think, Scott?" The man asked. "Think the brat's what you're lookin' for in your Battle Frontier project?"

Scott was a slightly tanned and portly man clad in a blue floral patterned shirt, tan pants and a pair of black sandals. A PokeNav was worn around his neck, hanging by a black leather cord, and a pair of dark sunglasses covered his eyes from view.

"Hmmm." Konohamaru watched Scott with a nervous yet determined gaze, waiting for the evaluation from the older male. The small gulp from the pre-teen trainer was practically deafening in the silence as he could feel the man's obscured eyes narrowing in thought. After what seemed like an eternity, Scott turned to the cigarette user beside him.

"Well, I gotta tell you the truth, Asuma, that given this is his first battle and that he used an already trained Pokemon, Konohamaru's got some degree of talent for sure..." Konohamaru beamed at the praise. "...But he's not what I'm looking for as a showcase for the Battle Frontier."

Konohamaru's shoulders drooped and Asuma gave the boy a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry kid, but while I'm sure you'll be a great trainer one day, you haven't even finished your schooling nor have you received your starter Pokemon." Scott smirked before pointing at the newly caught Ralts. "Well, I might have to take that part back since you just caught that Ralts, but you're gonna need some more experience before you are ready to take on the Battle Frontier once it's finished. My sponsors will be looking for competitors who will give the Frontier Brains a run for their money, and they are at least Gym Leader-class and at most Champion-level trainers, buuut..."

Asuma sighed as Scott turned his sunglasses covered gaze upon him. "Scott, I told you that I don't have time to be one of your competitors. My responsibilities as a gym leader here are pretty taxing on me already."

"And yet you still found time to go on a trip to visit that girlfriend of yours in Johto and get her pregnant." Scott's words almost made Asuma drop his cigarette and the bearded gym leader couldn't help but be sheepish before the rotund man. "How far along is Kurenai by the way?"

"Kurenai-san's pregnant?!" Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but shout out their surprise thus alerting the three Hoenn natives before them of their presence. The three heads all snapped in their direction as they saw Hinata and Naruto had slapped a hand over each other's mouths, but immediately they realised they couldn't stay out of the way of the conversation anymore and merely walked towards the trio.

"Hehe, sorry to be eavesdropping on your conversation like that." Naruto scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But you see, we're visitors from Johto and well, being a trainer, I battled Kurenai a while back. I never knew she had a boyfriend all the way here in Hoenn though, not that I would be curious about her love life at all since I have Hina-chan..."

"Naruto-kun, hush." Hinata hissed.

"Naruto...Naruto...I know I've heard that name from some-...Wait a minute." Scott stepped forward and rubbed his chin in thought as he looked over the two Johto natives. Scott then broke out into a toothy grin that threatened to split his face. "You're Naruto Uzumaki! You're Minato and Kushina's boy, and the winner of the Silver Conference from three years ago!"

Konohamaru's eyes widened at the exclamation before looking up at the older trainer as if he was staring at Arceus descending from the heavens. "Oh yeah! I recognise you now! You're the guy who managed to beat one of Izuna's Dragonite! It's a shame that you got beat by his Charizard though."

"Y-Yeah, but I deserved that loss." Naruto stated as he and Typhlosion winced in unison, the memory of their definitive defeat still fresh even after all these years. The Dragon Champion was clearly one of, if not the toughest battle he ever faced and it would continue to be engraved in the fibres of their very beings for as long as they lived. "Izuma-sama is just that strong and it was only out of respect that he decided to beat Typhlosion with his Charizard."

Hinata gave boyfriend a comforting kiss on the cheek, an act he replied to with a thankful smile.

"See, that's the kind of attitude I like in a trainer." Scott chuckled. "You've confirmed your strength by beating your region's Elite Four and battling Izuna, but that right there...that humility, knowing that you weren't strong enough to be able to beat him shows you have what it takes to be a Champion one day. Actually, now that I think about it, how's about I put your name down to be a part of my Battle Frontier's exhibition matches on opening day? If you're bringing in that all-star team of yours that you used to win the Silver Conference then I'm sure we'll pull in quite the crowd."

"I don't know about them being all-stars." The son of a Champion replied as he saw the way Typhlosion's chest puffed out in pride, welcoming the praise. "This fool here's got a pretty big ego."

"Typhlosion Ty."

"Pokemon mirror their trainers my ass." The blonde and his partner Pokemon butted heads, the fires of conflict blazing in their gazes. The onlookers sweatdropped as the two pushed against one another before they were pulled apart by Hinata and Espeon respectively. "But yeah, I don't really plan to have my previous team along for this journey. I wanted to give it a start from the beginning with just me and Typhlosion and raise a new team."

"Giving yourself a challenge, huh." Scott adjusted his sunglasses as he nodded. "Fair enough."

"Also, while it does sound like something pretty fun, Hina-chan and I have our own personal goals while we're here in Hoenn. I want to go to the Hoenn League and Hina-chan's aiming for the Grand Festival here, not to mention there's the whole completing the Pokedex and helping the Pokemon professors with their Mega Evolution studies. There's just a lot on my plate and I don't know if I'll have the time to help you out, Scott." Naruto turned to Asuma at that point. "Though speaking of the Hoenn League, Asuma, would you accept my challenge to a gym battle?"

"I don't mind accepting the challenge." Asuma replied as he took a drag from his cigarette. "We'll walk back to the gym and Scott can tell you about his Battle Frontier stuff on the way."

"Indeed I shall!" Scott made a motion for the group to follow after him as they walked through the entrance into Petalburg City itself.

While Petalburg was named a city, the infrastructure was more akin to that of a residential area and there weren't any tall buildings. The only buildings that stood out amongst the throng of homes were the Pokemon Centre, the PokeMart and the Gym. Petalburg was very calm and quiet, and gave off the same feeling as places such as Pallet Town, New Bark Town and Littleroot Town. It wasn't anything like the hustling and bustling city areas like Goldenrod nor did it seem to have any worthwhile tourist attractions like the Burning and Tin Towers in Ecruteak.

"It's very plain." Naruto commented.

"Ty." The Fire-type nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Petalburg isn't exactly a place to visit unless you're looking for a quiet place to retire." Asuma chuckled. "The only reason we are as large a place as we are is because of my position as a Gym Leader. The Pokemon League Association wanted to at least make the place a bit more welcoming and attractive for trainers that would come by to challenge me."

"Though I'm planning to multiply the beautification process by one thousand when I'm designing the Battle Frontier." Scott piped in.

"So what exactly is the Battle Frontier, Scott-san?" Hinata asked. "You've mentioned it quite a number of times."

"Yeah, plus I've never heard of it before. I never even heard Tou-chan talk about it."

"Well, I will have you two know that the Battle Frontier is actually of my own design." Scott stood up a bit straighter and adjusted his collar, his chest swelling with a bit of pride. "It's similar to the gym leader challenge in that there will be several battle arenas each of which will be overseen by a Frontier Brain."

"And these Frontier Brains are essentially gym leaders?" Hinata asked.

"Yup." Scott confirmed. "However, the exciting thing is that instead of just going up and being able to battle the Frontier Brain like you would a gym leader we actually include a little challenge."

"Oh?" Naruto's eyebrows raised alongside his curiosity.

"You need to go through a gauntlet, defeating 21 trainers in a row before being deemed competent enough to challenge the Frontier Brain." The rotund businessman stated. "Also, each battle arena looks to challenge different aspects of a Pokemon trainer's so there won't be any sense of monotony when it comes to the gauntlets."

"Twenty-one trainers in a row." Naruto muttered to himself in thought before a small smile appeared on his face. "Sounds fun."

"Ty!" The Volcano Pokemon nodded in agreement.

"Glad you think so." Scott chuckled. "So, what do you say? You up for the challenge?"

"You have my curiosity and if I can take part then I'll be happy to, but like I said earlier, I'm not too sure about whether or not I'll have the time to with all the stuff Hina-chan and I have to do for ourselves."

"Oh, well if it's time you're worried about then don't be." Scott laughed. "The Battle Frontier project is still in its developmental stages and while I have already found and recruited the trainers I'm going to use as the Frontier Brains, I've only just recently acquired the land necessary to build the place. We still have to put up the different battle arenas, and the accommodations for trainers and for those that are just visiting since we expect the Frontier to be a major tourist spot. There's a lot that's going to happen and we estimate it'll take at least a bit over one year for everything to finish it all."

"Well I guess if you put it that way..." Naruto paused in thought. "What do you think, Typhlosion?"

"Ty Typhlo." The Volcano Pokemon shrugged its shoulders. "Typhlo Phlosion Phlo."

"We did take less than a year to beat the gym leaders back home, you're right." Naruto nodded in confirmation of the fact. "Well, not like I have much to lose. Alright, Scott, I'll put it to you this way, if the Battle Frontier is finished and ready for business before the Pokemon League then I'm going to have to cancel on you, but otherwise I have no problem being a part of it."

"Great!" Scott and Naruto sealed the deal with a firm handshake, and their timing couldn't have been better as they arrived in front of the Petalburg City gym.

"Alright, we're here." Asuma announced.

"That was quick." Hinata commented.

"Espeon." Her Psychic-type partner agreed as they approached the automatic sliding doors of the gym.

The Petalburg City gym held the iconic dome-shaped exterior that most Pokemon gyms had. Its walls were a deep maroon with the symbol of the Pokemon League emblazoned on the front, a Shiny Pikachu sitting atop a golden Poke Ball. Beneath the sign saying 'Petalburg City Gym' was the image of the Balance Badge which resembled a grey barbell. Its interior however, resembled the Fighting Dojo from Cianwood City whereby the entire ceiling, walls and floor were made from polished wood. There were a few small windows along the upper areas of the walls which allowed for natural sunlight to shine through. The Johto visitors observed the several scrolls which were hanging from the walls, completely unfurled and each bearing the kanji for 'Balance' in black ink.

"Why the wood interior?" Naruto asked. "Wouldn't the gym not be able to handle the power from Pokemon attacks? What about if you use fire-type moves?"

"Fair questions, but you don't need to worry about that, Naruto." Asuma chuckled. "The wood is actually imported from the Sinnoh region where they use the trees that grow on the backs of Torterra which has a higher grade of durability compared to that of regular trees and can even handle the shockwaves from an Earthquake attack. The varnish used to coat the wood also contains chemicals that are fire retardant so there's no need to worry about using Fire-type moves or Pokemon."

Naruto and Typhlosion looked at each other and blinked owlishly before turning back to Asuma. "...Well alright then."

"Anymore questions?" Asuma asked. With a shake of his opponent's head, Asuma took one last drag from his dying cigarette and blew out a stream of whitish-grey smoke as if mentally preparing himself. "Okay, Konohamaru why don't you referee this match for me?"

"Okay Oji-san!" The spiky haired pre-teen bounded over to the halfway mark that split the battlefield into the gym leader's and challenger's halves. "What are the rules? Full gym battle or what?"

"That depends...Naruto?!" Naruto blinked in response as he was called out to. "Do you plan to use your Typhlosion for this match or do you just want a test run?"

"Does the great son of the Pokemon Professor think he's so above us mortals that he thinks I need a test run?"

Asuma chuckled at the younger trainer's joking tone. "So you know about me and my dad, huh?"

"Even if I didn't, only someone related to Professor Sarutobi could smoke that much and live to tell the tale." A glint of mischief shone in the Silver Conference Champion's eyes, but it was immediately replaced with a serious gaze. "But to answer your question, I'd rather not do a test run match, but I don't plan to use Typhlosion so soon in my gym battles. I want my other Pokemon to get some experience."

"Does the great son of Minato Namikaze think he's so above us mortals that he thinks he wouldn't need to use Typhlosion?"

"Smartass." The blue-eyed teen laughed lightly as he realized the Petalburg Gym Leader had just reused his own taunting words. "My newly caught Pokemon versus your team."

"If you insist, but I'm not gonna hold back." The bearded man replied as he turned to his nephew. "Konohamaru, normal gym leader rules and exclude Typhlosion from the brat's lineup."

"Okay." Konohamaru adjusted his scarf as he raised his hand into air. "This is a gym battle between Asuma Sarutobi, gym leader of the Petalburg City Gym, versus the challenger, Naruto Uzumaki! Both trainers are allowed to use their full teams and are limited to the usage of one healing item each! The match will be over when all of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle!"

Asuma and Naruto simultaneously reached towards their belts and retrieved their respective Poke Balls.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" Konohamaru swung his arm down and both gym leader and challenger threw forth the red and white capturing devices. The orbs snapped open and flashes of white light slammed down on the battlefield before solidifying.

"Lotad!" The Water Weed Pokemon stared blankly at its opponent in way that made Naruto reminisce about his Quagsire back when it was a Wooper. The Mud Fish Pokemon never used to be very expressive in battle and now his Lotad seemed to be quite the same. However, Lotad suddenly chose today to be the day that it would bear a facial expression as the blank stare became one of fear and awe at its diminutive blue form was overshadowed by Asuma's Pokemon.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"Lotad Lo?!"

The Normal-type specialist had unleashed a large, bulky, ape-like bipedal Pokémon. Most of its shaggy fur was brown, along with the semi-circle patterning under its eyes. Its face, chest, hands, and feet were lighter in color. Its brows were thick and jutting, and it had a large, pink, pig-like nose. Around its neck was a white collar of fur that extended over the top of its head before ending in a small tuft. It had large, five-fingered hands and two-toed feet.

"Slaaaaaaaking." The Lazy Pokemon yawned as it slowly blinked, looking down at Lotad with the most uncaring expression the world had ever seen.

"Is this how you treat all of your challengers?" Naruto asked. "By sending out a behemoth?"

"Not all of them and besides, you're a seasoned veteran compared to most of the trainers that come through my doors." Obsidian eyes glinted with mischief. "I told you from the beginning I wasn't going to hold back, so here it is, one of my strongest Pokemon, Slaking."

"Strongest Pokemon?" The Johto native narrowed his eyes. "Well if you want to play it that way...Lotad, use Growl!"

The Water/Grass-type nodded and unleashed a nearly deafening "LOOOOOTAAAAAAAD!" The echoing sound waves crashed against the Normal-type's body and though there was no visible reaction from the hulking beast of a Pokemon, Naruto could only hope that whatever monstrous attack power this so-called 'strongest Pokemon' Asuma had unleashed would have had its Attack stat lowered.

"Alright Lotad, use Growl again and then follow up with Bubble!"

"Lo!" The Water Weed Pokemon unleashed another barrage of deafening sound waves and while the final evolution of Slakoth continued to loaf around, a stream of brilliant blue bubbles slammed into Slaking's body. However, once the Water-type attack ended, Slaking appeared to have not even registered anything had just happened.

"Slaaaaaaking." The Lazy Pokemon continued to loaf around.

"Are you going to attack or defend, or do anything?" Naruto asked.

"Slaking will do what it needs to when it's ready." The son of the Pokemon Professor replied.

Naruto's eye twitched in response. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

* * *

"Why is Asuma-san's Slaking actually not doing anything, Scott-san?" Hinata asked. "Allowing it to act when it needs to is one thing, but not even a Snorlax is that lazy."

"The thing about a Slaking is that it's literally the world's laziest Pokemon and so if ever sent out into battle, it takes a while for its energy to kick in." Scott answered. "In order to compensate for being such a slow starter though, Slaking all have immensely dense layers of muscle and fat which allows them to withstand quite a number of attacks. They aren't quite as durable as say a well-trained Chansey, Blissey, or maybe even a Snorlax, but it can hold its own quite well until it's ready to attack."

"But...if you're saying that Slaking has that much muscle, then that means..." Hinata's eyes widened in realization. "Oh no."

"Espe?" The Sun Pokemon tilted its head in confusion upon seeing the shocked look on the Hyuga's face. "Espeon?"

"Yup." The Battle Frontier organiser nodded in confirmation. "Slaking can deal out just as much damage as it can take and I think Naruto is about to find that out in a few seconds."

* * *

"Alright Lotad, Bubble one more time!"

"LOTAD!" The dual type Pokemon unleashed another stream of spherical projectiles, whittling away at the Lazy Pokemon's health once more.

"Uuuuuuugh! Why won't this damned thing just faint already?!" Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance at how Slaking's indifferent expression stared back him, and Lotad seemed to be sharing a bit in its trainer's frustrations as its blank stare became narrow-eyed. "It doesn't matter, let's keep it up a bit and use Bubble attack!"

"Lotad!" The Water Weed Pokemon took in a deep inhalation before exhaling a multitude of shining bubbles. The Water-type attack flew towards the Normal-type behemoth and slammed into it with surprisingly explosive force, dousing Slaking's fur. The final form of Slakoth once again seemed to be physically unaffected by the attack, but there was an annoyed expression present on the Normal-type Pokemon's face.

"Slaaaaaaaaa!" To the diminutive Water/Grass-type, it was like watching a mountain move as the shadow of the Lazy Pokemon encompassed its entire body.

"Looooo-Tad!"

"Oooooh Shit."

Naruto and Lotad were at least able to voice their displeasure at the current situation before Asuma gave the order to strike.

"Feint Attack!"

"Sla!" The Normal-type Pokemon moved relatively quickly as its powerful leg muscles allowed to to surge towards it opponent. The duck-billed lilypad of a Pokemon could only blink before it was hit by a shoulder tackle from a Pokemon that was practically one ton of pure muscle. Lotad was immediately knocked out as it was sent sailing through the air, but Naruto at least had the heart to return to Water Weed Pokemon to its ball before it could make contact with the unforgiving floor.

"Lotad is unable to battle!" Konohamaru announced before pointing to his uncle. "The winner is Slaking!"

"Slaaaaaaking." The final form of Slakoth yawned in almost taunting manner, and to add insult to injury, Slaking returned to its initial position and began to loaf around.

"The hell was that?!"

"Feint Attack. Dark-type move." Asuma replied with a raised eyebrow. "For a regional champ, you're not too bright are you?"

"I know what the hell a Feint Attack is, Asuma!" The blonde snapped, his eyebrow twitching from the way the chain smoking gym leader was chuckling at his reaction. "I meant how the hell is that Pokemon so big and yet it could move that fast!"

"Don't you have a Pigeot that can break the sound barrier?"

"...That's not the point!"

Asuma continued to laugh at the Silver Conference Champion's expense. "Look kid, I just trained my Pokemon same as anybody else. A big Pokemon is always utilised as a tank, to absorb shots and then counter with explosive power. For this guy..." The Normal-type gym leader gestured to Slaking. "...we've experienced a fair amount of losses because of a Pokemon that ended up being too fast to counter. We trained to try and overcome that hurdle and I'll admit, while it hasn't always been 100 percent effective, it has helped turn the tide more often than you'd think."

"I...I can understand that." The whisker-cheeked trainer nodded before a smirk formed on his face. "Well, I'm not goin' down without a fight."

"That's the spirit."

"Alrighty, Seedot!" Naruto sent out the Acorn Pokemon.

"Dot!" The acorn-shaped Grass-type hopped across the battlefield ready for a fight.

"Alright Seedot, use Harden to boost your defense and then follow up with Bide!"

"Seedot!" The Acorn Pokemon followed its trainer's command and an aura of green energy outlined its body. The energy then vanished as quickly as it came, but Seedot appeared as if it had been polished to the point that it began to sparkle. Afterwards, a crimson aura sprung forth as Seedot began to charge its energy.

"Slaaaaaking." Slaking yawned as it was loafing around. Seedot's energy aura began to increase in intensity as the crimson glow began to take on an almost fiery appearance.

"Not a bad tactic to boost your defense."

"I'm kinda goin' back to basics with this one." Naruto replied.

"That's good. Finding a balance between the basics and more refined moves is always a good thing as the basics help form the foundation of your battling style." Asuma nodded in approval. "But sometimes the basics aren't always going to cut it. Slaking, Feint Attack again!"

"Sla-" The Lazy Pokemon moved to unleash the Dark-type move, but just as it moved its feet, Slaking suddenly faltered slightly almost as if it slipped. Asuma's eyes widened slightly as that.

"Looks like Lotad's Bubble attack wasn't in vain." Naruto commented with a mischievous grin. "Alright Seedot! Fire away, Bide attack!"

"SEEEEEDOOOOT!" The Acorn Pokemon's fiery aura suddenly condensed into a tight sphere before bursting forth as a beam of destruction. Slaking quickly raised its arms in defense, but the larger Pokemon still released a grunt of pain as the burning energy singed its fur.

"SLA-KING!" Slaking roared as it used pure physical might and ripped through the Bide attack. Taking off in a blur of speed, Seedot had no chance to defend itself as Slaking's Feint Attack hit home. Seedot flew past Naruto so quickly that the blonde didn't even register it until the Grass-type released a cry of pain after hitting the wall behind him.

"Seedot is unable to battle! Slaking wins again!" Konohamaru turned to his uncle with a grin, excited at the older trainer's win, but the grin became a confused expression as he took note of the stern expression on the Normal-type master's face. "Something wrong, Oji-san?"

"You come into my gym with such low level Pokemon, and yet you pull shit like this." Asuma chuckled. "That's terrifying, you know that, brat?"

"You did a good job, Seedot. Take a good rest." The Grass-type Pokemon groaned as it vanished into the Poke Ball as a string of red energy. Naruto climbed back to his feet and whipped out his third Poke Ball while meeting the gym leader's gaze. "What were you saying?"

"I'm saying that you knew what you were doing with your Lotad."

"Of course I did, I'm not an idiot." Naruto laughed. "You're a gym leader and you decide to whip out one of your best against a Lotad I literally caught a couple of days ago, but Kaa-chan taught me to always have a plan. So yeah, I did use Lotad's Bubble in succession to increase the likelihood of that 10 percent chance for Slaking's speed to drop just so that I could get that little bit of extra time needed for Seedot to be able to get in a Bide attack."

"Wait!" Konohamaru's eyes were wide with shock and amazement. "So you actually planned for Slaking to slip?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he took note of the metaphorical stars in the pre-teen Sarutobi's eyes. "Well...yeah."

"THAT'S SO COOL!" The scarf-wearing boy was practically bouncing off the walls. "I mean, I never really expected you to score a hit against Oji-san at all since he's so strong, but even though you did, the mere fact that you planned for that to happen?! That's awesome, Naruto Nii-chan!"

"Thanks!" Naruto felt himself swell with pride only to quickly receive a slap to the back of the head from his partner Pokemon. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Ty Typhlo Phlosion Ty."

"I'll show you who's getting a big head after I give you a couple of lumps when I kick you!"

As one would expect from the most powerful Pokemon in Naruto's team, the Volcano Pokemon pulled down its lower eyelid and stuck out its tongue as its retort.

The onlookers sweatdropped as trainer and partner Pokemon argued with one another, but Asuma quickly put a stop to that by loudly clearing his throat just as the two were actually about to trade blows.

"Oi, brat! You wanna forfeit and fight with your Typhlosion now, or wait until I beat you to do it?"

"Them's fighting words."

"Yes." Asuma confirmed. "Yes they are."

Sapphire orbs narrowed in annoyance at the sass of the Normal-type master before tossing the Poke Ball containing his third Pokemon. With a loud bark, the Dark-type that was Poochyena solidified before Slaking. Like all miniature canines, they were willing to fight against any and all opponents that were larger than them for what they lacked in size they made up for in ego.

"Howl and then Tackle attack!"

"AROOOOOO!" The Bite Pokemon was encompassed in a powerful crimson aura, its attack power raising with the Howl. The moment its attack power climbed, crimson eyes glowed with battle lust before it charged with the intent of slamming into Slaking with all its might.

"YEN!" Poochyena slammed full force into the rotund Pokemon, but Slaking's strong abdominal muscles easily absorbed the impact of the Normal-type attack.

"Slaking." The Lazy Pokemon pushed Poochyena back, but the Dark-type canine quickly went into a backflip to land deftly on all-fours.

"Howl and Tackle again!" With fangs bared, Poochyena prepared to go in for another attack and Slaking made no shift in its stance as it prepared for another straightforward Tackle attack. However, due to Naruto's stunt with Lotad's Bubble attack, the Normal-type goliath and its trainer became a bit more vigilant as they eyed the oncoming canine.

"Don't let your guard down, Slaking."

"Slak!" The Lazy Pokemon nodded.

"YEN!" Poochyena struck, but Slaking once again pushed back with its strong abdominal muscles to send the Dark-type Pokemon flying back.

"Tackle attack again, Poochyena!" Naruto ordered.

"That's not going to work! Unlike Bubble attack, Tackle attack has no effect on a Pokemon's status!" Asuma shouted.

"Doesn't matter! Poochyena is still gonna hit hard, right boy?!"

"YEN!" The Bite Pokemon confirmed its trainer's words with another strike.

* * *

"Ummm, Hinata-san?" Scott turned to the Saffron City native with a bored expression. "Does your boyfriend have a plan at all? There is the idea that maybe he can whittle away at Slaking's health with all these Tackle attacks, but even for a battle enthusiast myself, I have to admit...this is getting really boring."

"I can agree with you there, Scott-san." Hinata replied as Poochyena continued its string of Tackle attacks. A fourth. A fifth. A sixth and seventh Tackle attack followed soon after, but Slaking continued to resist the seemingly heavy Normal-type attacks as if they were love taps.

Indeed, it was rather uneventful to watch the grey-furred Pokemon try its hardest to fell the massive beast before it, but she knew Naruto long enough to know that he had a reason for everything he did. It helped to confirm this thought when she saw the light which shone in her beloved's sapphire orbs.

"But Asuma-san is reaching the limits of his patience and soon Naruto-kun's plan is just about to spring into action."

"Really?" Scott sat up straighter in his seat in preparation. "What makes you say that?"

"ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"There it is." The Pokemon Coordinator smirked.

* * *

From Asuma's perspective, the match between Slaking and Poochyena seemed to have plateaued after a certain point. Poochyena continued to follow its orders of increasing its attack strength with Howl and then following up with significantly powered up Tackle attacks, but Slaking's defense and durability rendered the canine Pokemon's charges to practically nothing.

The battle was getting repetitive and this annoyed Asuma to no end. He tried to see what the blonde trainer was trying to accomplish with the string of Tackle attacks, but there was no sort of method to the madness. It was basically becoming a battle of attrition. Poochyena as a species were bundles of raw energy and could figuratively perform Tackle attacks all day with barely any rest, Naruto's Poochyena being the case in point after delivering its eighth attack. However, after beginning to think that the battle was becoming repetitive, it brought on a feeling of annoyance in the son of the Pokemon Professor.

Repetition was annoying and with annoyance came the hints of anger, and with anger came the slip up.

"SLAKING USE FEINT ATTACK!"

"There is it." Naruto smirked as Asuma finally snapped. It seemed that Lotad's Bubble tactic made Asuma a little bit too cautious as Naruto would have thought Asuma would have snapped after the fifth or sixth Tackle attack, but it seemed the smoking addict of a gym leader had a bit more patience than Naruto thought. "Alright Poochyena, Slaking's coming straight at you! Hop into the air and take the punch with your paws!"

"YEN!" The Dark-type Pokemon's crimson orbs widened, its ears perked and its fur bristled as all of its senses sprung into action when Slaking appeared to vanish from view with its use of Feint Attack. In a blur of movement, Slaking barreled towards the Bite Pokemon, but as the Normal-type giant unleashed a devastating punch, Poochyena hopped into the air and went with the flow of the movement of the strike. The terrific force of the attack flowed through Poochyena's body and sent it tumbling through the air as the Bite Pokemon pushed off of Slaking's knuckles to reduce the force of the impact.

The grey-furred canine landed deftly on all-fours and suddenly its leg muscles tensed before it shot off at a pace that neither Asuma or Slaking expected.

"What the?!"

"Slaking?!"

The crimson-eyed Pokemon was a literal blur of greyish-black as it raced across the battleground.

"Alright, here's where we can get some good hits in!" Naruto announced. "Get behind Slaking and go for the knees! Tackle attack!"

"YEN!"

"SLA!" Slaking released a grunt of pain as it was struck in the back of its knees, the hardened skull of Poochyena forcing the massive Normal-type's right leg to buckle. "KING!" The left leg followed soon after. Both Slaking and Asuma were in shock at the position the Lazy Pokemon was placed into, but their surprise didn't end there as Poochyena appeared in front of Slaking's kneeling form.

"Finish it with Bite attack!"

Pearly white fangs glinted in the sunlight and leg muscles tensed before they uncoiled like springs. Poochyena rocketed towards the larger Pokemon's throat, jaws agape with the intent to deal massive damage. Slaking reacted quickly, bringing across its forearms in a reflexive act to protect its neck, but the attack still struck home. Blood was drawn as a critical hit was scored causing Slaking to winced as Poochyena revealed exactly why it was called the Bite Pokemon.

"Slaking, shut that puppy down with Retaliate!" Slaking's eyes narrowed with righteous fury as it carried out its order. Poochyena's jaw muscles remained taut as it held onto the Slaking's raised forearm, but the Dark-type found the world becoming a blur of colour for one swift second. Slaking swung its arm down with great speed and drove Poochyena into the hard wood floor with devastating force, a small shockwave acting to emphasize the fact.

Poochyena's jaw muscles relaxed as it lay unconscious on the Petalburg Gym's floor and Slaking licked the stray drops of blood that leaked from the wound.

"You did a good job, Poochyena." Naruto said as he recalled the downed canine. "You held out a lot longer than I thought you would, so take a good rest."

"You're one hell of a trainer, Naruto." The Petalburg Gym Leader praised his challenger. "Bring out your next Pokemon and let's see what else you got up your sleeve."

"Not much anymore, Asuma." The New Bark Town native replied as he sent out his next Pokemon, a Zigzagoon. "Like I said, this is just me getting some experience with some of the new guys."

"Experience or not..." The chain smoker smiled. "...you're making this match exciting."

* * *

Scott was still in shock as he watched the bleeding wound on Slaking's forearm as the Lazy Pokemon began its next battle with the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon.

"I can't believe this." The shades wearing businessman laughed in a way that sounded as if he was about to mentally break. "One of the toughest trainers in the region, literally ranked the third strongest gym leader in the Hoenn region, and he's being whittled away at by some newly caught Pokeon practically fresh from the wild."

"That's my Naruto-kun." Hinata laughed at the older man's reaction.

"Ummm, Nee-chan?" Konohamaru moved away from his referee area and waved to get Hinata's attention.

"What is it, Konohamaru-kun?"

"I...I don't really get what just happened with Naruto Nii-chan's Poochyena." A small blush of embarrassment formed on the young boy's face. "I mean, it tanked the hit and I expected it to still go down, but all of a sudden, Poochyena got faster! I don't understand at all!"

"Well that's a reasonable question, Konohamaru." Scott patted the boy reassuringly on the head. "After all, it's not every day you see a Poochyen with the Rattled ability."

"Rattled?" His embarrassment at being seen as a bit dumb was quickly replaced with confusion. "I thought Poochyena's abilities were Run Away and Quick Feet."

"That's true." Hinata nodded in confirmation. "But sometimes a Pokemon has something called a Hidden Ability and there's only a 5 percent chance of a trainer ever catching a Pokemon with those abilities. In Poochyena's case, that Hidden Ability is Rattled, which allows for a Pokemon's speed to increase if they are hit with a Bug, Dark or Ghost-type move."

"Ooooooh!" The scarf-wearing boy's eyes widened in realisation. "And Feint Attack is a Dark-type move!"

"Bingo." Scott winked at the young trainer.

It was at that exact moment the sound of Zigzagoon's cry of pain echoed throughout the gym. Konohamaru ran back over to his spot at the halfway mark on the battlefield and looked at Naruto's Zigzagoon, finding the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon down and out from taking a strong Retaliate to the face.

"Uuuuuh...R-Right!" Konohamaru raised his arm and pointed to his once-again-victorious uncle. "Zigzagoon is unable to battle! Slaking is the victor!"

"SLAAAAAAKING!" The Lazy Pokemon roared, flexing its arms in victory as Naruto recalled the unconscious Normal-type.

"Okay, let's see how well you can perform in an actual battle." The blonde tossed the Poke Ball into the air before it opened and unleashed the Pokemon inside. In a flash of white light, the Water-type starter Pokemon appeared on the battlefield with a high-pitched "MUDKIP!" to announce its presence to the world.

"Ah, a Mudkip." Asuma took note of the strong stance that the diminutive Pokemon took as it faced his Slaking. "You've pulled a lot of tricks on me, Naruto. You've utilized moves that affect my Pokemon's stats and used your Pokemon's abilities to turn the tide as well as you could. I'm expecting an interesting fight from this one."

"We'll do what we can, right Mudkip?"

"MUD!" The Mud Fish Pokemon shouted in reply, round black eyes shining with determination

"Awww, look at the little guy all psyched to fight." Naruto cooed as he turned to his original starter Pokemon. "Reminds me of you when you were a Cyndaquil."

"Typhlosion Ty."

"I mean sure you were cute, but look at my little blue boy here!" Naruto pointed to the innocent determined expression on Mudkip's face. "He's downright adorable! Aren't you, little guy?!"

"Mudkip!" The Water-type puffed its chest out, wearing its adorable-ness with pride.

Typhlosion shoved a middle digit in Naruto's face, pouted and then ran across to sit by Hinata.

"Oh come on, Typhlosion! Don't be like that!" The Volcano Pokemon dug its snout into Hinata's lap and turned to face away from its trainer. Hinata looked to her boyfriend and shrugged, offering a small smile as she pet the brooding Fire-type. "You're such a drama queen! Hinata, tell Typhlosion to stop being a big baby and that Mudkip is fucking adorable!"

"Espeon Espe."

"Typhlosion." The Volcano Pokemon's pouted deepened at how the Sun Pokemon, its best friend since they became trained Pokemon, agreed that Mudkip was adorable.

"Dumbass." Naruto rolled his eyes at his partner Pokemon before focusing back on the battle at hand. "Sorry about that, Asuma."

"No need to apologise." The tobacoo addict waved off the side-conversation between a boy and his Pokemon. "It was actually quite entertaining to watch, but fun time's over. Slaking, use Feint Attack!"

"Oi! No sneak attacks!"

Naruto's exclamation of surprise fell on deaf ears as Slaking charged forward, its fist already drawn back in preparation to deliver a crushing blow to the Water-type starter Pokemon. The Dark-type move zeroed in on its target, but the fast-paced attack generated a response from the fin atop the smaller Pokemon's head. Despite being much lower leveled and fairly slower, Mudkip's ability to sense displacements in the air allowed it to quickly react.

A powerful shockwave occurred due to the devastating force behind Slaking's attack with...the floor?

"Kip Kip!" The Mud Fish Pokemon chirped happily as it stood a few inches away from where Slaking's fist was located.

"Sla? King?" The final form of Slakoth did a double-take between its fist and Mudkip's current location.

"HA!" Naruto laughed. "You show 'em, Mudkip!"

"Don't act so celebratory just because you dodged one attack, brat." Asuma scowled. "Slaking, Feint Attack again!"

"Slaking!" The Lazy Pokemon roared and performed the Dark-type attack once more, but Mudkip dodged it once more.

"SLA!" "MUD!"

"KING!" "KIP!"

With its smaller frame and the high level of sensitivity to the environmental changes around it, the Mud Fish Pokemon was practically dancing around the battlefield with all the poise and grace of a Kirlia. Shockwaves echoed throughout the Petalburg Gym with each blow Mudkip avoided, and it irked the larger Normal-type Pokemon to no end.

"One. Two. Three. Four." Naruto tapped his foot as if he were counting the beats to a piece of music. There was a rhythm to Slaking's swings and he finally got it. With a mischievous smirk, Naruto's blue eyes brightened as he finally gave Mudkip its first command for the battle. "Push off and use Tackle attack!"

"Muuuuuud..." Mudkip hopped back, avoiding Slaking's latest attempt to flatten it, before its short legs tensed. "KIP!" The Water-type shot off the ground as a blue, white and orange blur. With the power to shatter boulders backing it, Mudkip struck home, nailing Slaking right in the face. The sound of cartilage cracking was practically deafening as two spurts of blood arced from Slaking's nostrils.

"Slaking! Slaking Sla Slaking!" The Lazy Pokemon groaned in pain, clutching its face as blood leaked between the spaces in its fingers.

"Now use Water Gun!"

"Muuuuuuuud!" A blast of pressurized water fired from Mudkip's mouth and crashed into Slaking's face, causing the Normal-type Pokemon to backpedal.

"Don't let up!" Mudkip obeyed its trainer and the Water Gun attack seemed to increase in force, but for all its power, at the end of the day, Mudkip was still just a newbie to the battling scene. So when Asuma, gave the order to simply charge through the Water Gun, the Mud Fish Pokemon could only stare in amazement at the toughness displayed by the Lazy Pokemon.

Thundering footsteps made the Water-type literally hop in place out of its own volition, and soon Slaking was upon it. A massive giant of fur and muscle casting an equally massive shadow over its frame.

"Slaking, Retaliate attack!"

"Hang tough, Mudkip and use Tackle!" Naruto ordered.

A downward palm strike descended upon Mudkip, but the Mud Fish Pokemon quickly pushed its body forwards with as much force as it could muster.

"SLA!"

"MUD!"

Both Normal-type attacks collided, heralded by the battle cries of their users and accompanied by a powerful shockwave that caused a massive wind to expand throughout the gym. Konohamaru's scarf billowed wildly and Hinata had to hold her hair in place, the shockwave was so powerful.

The winds died down and the gym was quiet for all but a few moments as Slaking withdrew its palm and took a step back. A nod of respect was sent towards the adorable Water-type, for in spite of its status as a low-level Pokemon and having fainted from the overpowering Retaliate attack, the blue-skinned amphibian remained standing tall on its stubby legs.

"And despite it still standing, Mudkip is unable to battle!" Konohamaru announced, his shock evident in his vocal tone. "The winner is Asuma Oji-san and Slaking!"

"Slaaaaaa!" Tired, bruised and bleeding from having to endure five straight rounds of battling had the Lazy Pokemon understandably yawning as the fatigue began to settle in. It gave a nod to its trainer and Asuma nodded back.

"You did great work out there, Slaking." The Normal-type's flesh and blood form converted into red energy as it was recalled into its Poke Ball. "Take a good rest."

"Slaking."

Meanwhile on the other end of the battlefield, Naruto gave the fainted starter Pokemon a smile which it would not be able to witness as he walked towards it. He knelt down to pat the Mudkip on its back as he withdrew its Poke Ball.

"You were great out there, Mudkip." Red energy entered the capturing device as the Water-type Pokemon was returned. "I'm definitely going to make sure you get strong enough to take down Slaking one day. I promise you that."

"One hell of a promise to make." The Normal-type specialist commented as he walked over to his challenger.

"Ha Ha!" Naruto laughed as he rose up from his kneeling position. Naruto's head then snapped up and Asuma found himself pausing mid-stride as he felt a strange pressure being exhumed from the trainer before him. The son of a Champion stared the son of the Pokemon Professor dead in his eyes. Determination blazed like a Fire Blast within those sapphire orbs and the gym leader's obsidian orbs could not help but widen in response. "One hell of a promise to make, sure, but it's one I intend to keep, Asuma."

"...You got a good look in your eyes, brat. I will say without a doubt that you are the only person I've met who made my Slaking sweat so much with fresh-out-of-the-wild Pokemon." Asuma stretched out his hand to shake, a gesture which Naruto readily accepted. "I look forward to our next battle when your team is better balanced and stronger."

"You can count on it."

The deal was sealed with a handshake.

* * *

Border of Petalburg City/Route 104, Hoenn Region

After Naruto healed his party at the Pokemon Centre and, as per Asuma's advice, stockpiling on some healing items due to the large populations of Grass and Bug-type Pokemon in Petalburg Woods, the pair of Kanto-Johto natives were prepared for the next part of their journey.

"So just like the PokeNav showed, you just have to follow Route 104 to get to Petalburg Woods." Scott informed the pair. "The woods can get pretty thick and the amount of Wurmple and Zigzagoon in there is downright sickening."

"We'll keep that in mind." Hinata laughed. "It can't be any worse than our encounters with Zubat and Golbat in caves."

"That's even worse." Asuma shuddered as he began to experience distasteful flashbacks of his days as a trainer in Kanto. "They're like Rattata with wings."

"Well, just like with those pesky Pokemon, Typhlosion here can keep 'em away." Naruto fist bumped his partner Pokemon. "Ain't that right, buddy?"

"Ty!" The Volcano Pokemon nodded stiffly, sticking its chest out with faux pride.

"You're suuuuuure you don't want me to come with you, Nii-chan?" Konohamaru's words of concern were easily overshadowed by the tone of excitement in his voice. "I mean, I could keep you and Nee-chan company, and since you're new to the woods, I could be like a...a..." He paused as he searched his vocabulary before his eyes brightened. "A guide!"

The young boy was lightly, but still painfully, hit on the noggin from his uncle.

"You still have to finish school."

"But school's in Rustboro City anyway!" Konohamaru pouted as he rubbed the spot where Asuma had hit him. "Why can't I go with Naruto Nii-chan and Hinata Nee-chan?!"

"Well for starters, it's because I said so." The scarf-wearing pre-teen rolled his eyes, earning him a well-deserved flick on the forehead for his 'disrespect'. "Number two is that Naruto and Hinata are basically strangers, no offense, and while I know you like them and they are good people, I don't want you wandering the woods without _adult_ supervision." Asuma made sure stress the word 'adult' in the face of his nephew. "And thirdly, your parents are coming to pick you up tomorrow so I can't have you running off or else it's not just your ass that's going to be in trouble."

Konohamaru frowned deeply, but nodded in understanding. "Fine."

"Hey, Konohamaru."

"Yeah Naruto Nii-chan?" The trainer-to-be met Naruto's gaze as the blonde bent his knees slightly.

"When is your graduation from school?"

"It's my last semester, so once I pass my final exams then I'll be able to travel legally in the middle of June."

"Well that's not so bad, that's what? A month away?" Naruto gave the boy a toothy grin. "You'll be out there with your Ralts and kicking ass left, right and centre in no time at all if that's the case. So here's the deal." Naruto whipped out a small piece of paper and pencil from his backpack and scribbled down his contact information. "After you begin your journey and you think you're feeling up for a battle, just gimme a call of the Holocaster with your PokeNav."

Konohamaru's eyes sparkled with amazement and joy, stars practically shining in his chocolate coloured irises. "R-Really, Naruto Nii-chan?! You'll battle me?!"

"Of course. Though, just to confirm, do you want to do contests or are you taking the gym leader challenge?"

"Gym leader challenge." Was the immediate response.

"Then that makes you my rival."

If Konohamaru's eyes widened any further, Naruto and Hinata were concerned that they might actually fall out of their sockets.

"I'm...I'm your rival?"

"Yup!" Naruto chuckled as he ruffled the younger boy's hair. "You're no Sasuke Uchiha of course, but one can't have too many sources of competition."

"Th-Then I...I..." Konohamaru stood a bit straighter, his fists clenched tightly as he met Naruto's gaze. "I'll become strong! Super strong! And then I'll work with Ralts, get all eight badges and fight you in the Pokemon League!"

"I'll look forward to it."

The two boys wore matching toothy grins as they bumped fists with one another, their rivalry solidified through that single gesture.

On that note, Naruto and Hinata turned their backs on Scott, Asuma and Konohamaru with Espeon and Typhloion walking dutifully beside them. The trio continued to watch the Johto natives venture off towards Petalburg Woods, their images growing smaller and smaller with each passing second.

Konohamaru dropped his arm, having been waving goodbye for almost an entire minute. "Asuma Oji-san?"

"Hmm?" The older Sarutobi grunted as he reached to take out another cigarette.

"Do you think I can be as strong as you and Naruto Nii-chan?"

There was a pregnant pause between the Sarutobi family members. Konohamaru waited patiently. He always expected the truth from his uncle. Even when his parents, despite usually being absent from home due to partaking in research alongside his grandfather or Professor Birch at times, they all tended to treat him like the child he was. Asuma on the other hand, didn't sugarcoat things and was very blunt when it came to the facts of life and this was going to be one of those times he wanted to be told the truth straight-up.

The Normal-type specialist took a long drag from his cigarette, watching the stream of smoke being carried away by the winds. "If you're asking if you can get as strong as you need to be to be able to beat him, then it's going to take a number of years."

"...Then...can I at least get strong enough to fight him like when he fought you just now?" Brown eyes stared intensely into black ones. "Naruto Nii-chan made Slaking struggle with what you called fresh-out-of-the-wild Pokemon, so at the very least...can I at least do that?"

"So you want to give him a run for his money?" Asuma smirked at the passionate trainer-to-be. "Then there's no doubt you can do that."

* * *

Southern Region, Petalburg Woods

The cries of fear from the wild Pokemon echoed throughout the dark regions of the Petalburg Woods. Flocks of Taillow scattered while the nests of Wurmple crawled as quickly as they could or attempted to swing through the trees with their String Shot. The Zigzagoon and Poochyena packs ran as quickly as their four legs could carry them which was a luxury that the Cascoon and Silcoon could not afford due to their inability to move at all. The Slakoth present, mostly out of sheer laziness, watched from their perches, observing the abundance of activity that came with the invasion of the red and black clad humans as they corralled their targets.

"Karyuu-san!" The grunt stood ramrod straight and saluted as she presented herself to the admin of Team Magma. "The squads have reported in!"

"Give me the numbers of the other squads first." The bluish-purple haired man's ordered as he continued to watch the flock of fleeing Taillow.

"Sir!" She nodded and looked down at the tablet in her hands. "Beta squad in the east has reported twenty-five caught. Gamma squad in the west reports capturing seventeen. Delta caught fifteen. Finally, us here in Alpha squad have managed to round up approximately twenty-seven, but there was a report of at least ten which fled into the woods. A few of the grunts are hunting them down with the Mightyena to bring back to the rendezvous point in the southern region of the forest."

"Hmmm." Karyuu hummed as he processed the information. "While Shroomish are known to make their nests here in the areas of the forest the soil is damp and the trees provide an ample amount of darkness for them to thrive in, the Shroomish population is encounter rate is calculated to be approximately 10 percent."

Karyuu sighed in exasperation before turning to the grunt. "We will have to make do with what we have. If the hunting squad manages to collect any of the run aways then that's fine, but tell them that it's not that high of a priority at the moment. Order all squads to report to the rendezvous point with all the Shroomish they have and we will begin phase two."

"Yes sir!" The grunt saluted before reaching to her earpiece to relay the admin's orders.

* * *

 **(A/N: Sorry about the long wait for chapter 2. I've been busy with some real world stuff and that held priority. Plus I was trying to write for my other stories, and also sift through Naruto characters that would serve as proper counterparts for the characters in ORAS/Emerald versions along with working out the storyline. While I am using Emerald version as a template, it is just that. A template. So trying to work out certain plot points is proving to be a bit of a challenge.**

 **Just a little note on Karyuu. He is a side character from the Sasuke Shinden anime arc who uses Lava Release, though he did have a bit larger presence in the novel version of this arc, but overall he's not a very prominent person in the Naruto world.**

 **I am also adjusting the Pokedex Seen and Caught sections to account for the Johto and Kanto region Pokemon that are present in the ORAS dex as I realised I forgot to do so in the chapter 1 Dex recording.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter and remember to review, review, review!)**

* * *

 **Pokedex:**

 **Seen- 83**

 **Caught- 78**

* * *

 **Character Bio: Ameyuri Ringo**

 **Eye Colour: Black**

 **Hair Colour: Red**

 **About: She is admin of the enigmatic eco-terrorist group known as Team Aqua. Ameyuri was born and raised in Rustboro City with all the hopes and dreams of benefiting the Hoenn region. At the Rustboro Pokemon Trainer School, she earned stellar marks and was one of the better trainers in the class. As a graduation present, she was gifted her partner Pokemon, a Chinchou which she affectionately called Kiba for no other reason than that she liked the name. However, she knew immediately that she did not want to pursue the path of a trainer and later moved into the field of academia. Ameyuri was well on her way to success as she graduated within high grades, majoring in both engineering and theoretical physics, before being offered the chance to be an intern at Devon Corporation. Her work was recognised and thus she was given a full-time job at the establishment where she worked extensively on developing a rain-making machine to help Hoenn's agricultural industry during the summer periods when there was known to be terrible periods of drought at times. Unfortunately, her experiment failed spectacularly and she was fired from Devon. She later was recruited by Team Aqua who had been monitoring her for some time and offered to fund her. She accepted.**

* * *

 **Naruto's Team:**

Typhlosion (Male)

Mudkip (Male)

Poochyena (Male)

Zigzagoon (Female)

Seedot (Female)

Lotad (Male)

 **Hinata's Team:**

Espeon (Female)

Treeko (Male)

Wurmple (Female)

Lotad (Male)

Ralts (Male)

 **Sasuke's Team:**

Feraligatr (Male)

Torchic (Male)

Taillow (Male)

Seedot (Male)

Zigzagoon (Male)

 **Sakura's Team:**

Meganium (Female)

Wurmple (Female)

Poochyena (Male)

Lotad (Male)


End file.
